Just a Practical Problem
by That Engineer
Summary: After an old enemy is dealt with, Kor has to face a new problem: settling into a new world. First story ever written on this site. Rated T for swearing in future chapters. Will be updated on weekly basis. Finished editing out the chapters, will resume making newer ones.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first ever written story published on FanFiction. I wrote a story on a forum before but never thought to upload it. Based on an rp I did with a friend. Anyway I hope everyone likes it. Also no flames please. **

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my own OC. Also Gray Mann and some weapon references belong to Valve as there's breif mention of them.**

It's been about a week since Gray Mann was finally killed. At times it felt as if the whole robot war he started would never end, but now they finally got him, well technically Kor killed him. The man had deserved everything that came to him: attempting to kill the former engineer and his fellow mercenaries whom he called family, threatening thousands of innocents, he ended up causing Kor to lose one of his hands, and to top it all off, Gray betrayed Eggman to take over the world himself. Kor still smiles at the memory of ripping the basterd's Australium-powered life support system from his back.

Currently, Kor was laying on the bed of his new home, staring at the robotic hand he made as a replacement. It was a standard issue Gunslinger licensed by Mann. Co., which allowed the user to build mini sentries. It was important that all engineers knew how to build one of their own in case they needed to replace a hand. Kor chuckled to himself as he remembered the tons of weapons Mann Co. gave to both RED and BLU to test, or in other words, kill each other with.

Although Kor wished to be back on familiar grounds, he knew he couldn't live in his home world even if he wanted to. Due to some temporal displacement when arriving on Mobius he went from being a human to a red mobian fox, and only recently he found the effects to be permanent. "Well, at least this world is full of adventure, with Sonic being around and Eggman still schemin." Kor mused to himself. "Plus, given the tons of tech this world has, I might be able to make more than just sentries." He smiled deviously at the thought. Being able to make robots of destruction was still in his blood as a former RED engineer, despite having mellowed out of his destructive tendencies to a degree. He then decided to walk to Freedom HQ to see what everyone else was up to.

Since Kor decided to live the rest of his life on Mobius, and with some suggestion from Sonic and others, he moved to Knothole where the Kingdom of Acorn had resided. To him, he supposed it made sense given that Sally was a princess and all. Within a few days he met some of the other Freedom Fighters such as Rotor, Antoine, and Bunny, including the other members of the Chaotix like Julie-Su, Mighty, Ray, Saffron, and even members of the royal family like Sally's brother Elias. They were a very nice bunch in his mind. Speaking of which, the Freedom Fighters were just discussing about him in the common area of the HQ.

"You think he'll be estatic about what we'll tell him?" Tails questioned. "Probably, but doesn't talk as much as he used to. Almost reminds me of Shadow." Sonic said. "He might be just thinking about some issues of his on Sugah Hog. 'Sides, movin' into new digs ain't exactly exciting to some." Bunnie said, though she wondered how he lost his hand since no one said anything about it. "Being zat he used to be a crazed merc fighting all ze time, I'm sure he's just getting used to ze peace." Antoine says in his distinct French accent. "Regardless of that, I'm sure Kor will be happy to be a part of the Freedom Fighters. He even told me himself he thought it would be a fun adventure here." Sally points out. Sonic chuckles. "Being him, I wonder what his definition of 'fun' is." "Something I may not want to know, however I am amazed at the kind of weapons he made in his own time." Rotor mused. The others had mentioned something about an auto-turret but didn't give the details about it.

Then they hear chuckling from the stairs. "I'd be happy to tell you more about it Rotor. So what are you all doing down here?" Kor asks as he entered the base. He notices none of the Chaotix are around. "Annnnnd where are Knuckles and the Chaotix?" "They're acting as body guards for Mina while she's on her world tour. Anyway come on down Kor, we need to speak with ya on something." Sonic says, laying his feet on the table. "Um, ok." Kor takes a seat in a beanbag chair opposite of the others. "So what's up?"

"Well, we've been discussing this and, thanks to your invaluable efforts in stopping Gray Mann, we would like to appoint you as a member of the Freedom Fighters!" Sally exclaims. Kor raises an eyebrow at this. "Really?" "Of course. You might be a little nuts at times," Kor chuckles at that, "but we all think you'd be a valued team mate that can help topple Eggman." Tails comments with a smile. "Plus, if you can handle them Gray bots, Eggman's drones won't be an issue for ya." Bunnie says with a tip of the hat.

Kor smiles at this. He had a feeling they would let him join, but he was unsure about this given the fact he can become a crazed gunman from time to time. Sonic, Tails, and Sally once saw him gun down 50 robots with his sentry gun, all while he was laughing like a crazed maniac. "Well, y'all got yerselves a new teammate then, pardners. I'm sure this is gonna be a heck of a lot fun beating Egghead." The others chuckle in agreement. Bunnie then grows curious as she stares at his hand. "Not to sound rude, but how did you lose yer hand?" Kor rubs the back of his head of his flesh hand. "Well, that's abit of a story really. Oh and I can tell ya about some of my machine Rotor." Rotor smiles and pulls up a chair.

**A/N: And that's all she wrote, for now. Went back through this chapter recently and edited some stuff out. Realized I should've fleshed out the first chapter a bit more. Anyway please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: With Kor now officially a Freedom Fighter, time will tell if he adds some level of crazy to the heroes team. Whether or not it'll be a bad thing is another story.**

**Disclaimer: All character belong to Sega except my OC.**

"So you built these different kinds of, sentry guns was it?" "Yep." "Ok, but, mind if I ask, how come none of us have seen any of them around your house?" "Well, I kinda left a good number of them back on my home world, some were destroyed, and I didn't want to scare anyone with a turret standing on my lawn." "Valid point." Kor and Rotor had been talking for about a good hour or so, trading technical achievements and ideas to each other.

Kor already told Bunnie that he lost his hand in a plane crash. His hand had been so charred it had to be removed. Bunnie said he could consider getting an upgrade, such as turning it into a laser cannon. Kor said he would consider it, and his talk with Rotor was helping him form a new project in his mind. "Hey Rotor, I'm gonna go check out the rest of the HQ. We'll talk more later." "Alright. I'll be in the lab if you need me." Rotor said before walking off to his destination.

As Kor traversed the HQ, he found the bedrooms and the kitchen. He made his way over to the lab when he heard Rotor and Sally discussing something, along with a voice from someone he hadn't heard before. Curiously, he poked his head through the door and saw them both talking with what he assumes is a Mobian lynx on a large computer screen. Rotor happens to look behind him and notices Kor in the doorway. "Oh hey Kor, I see you managed to find the lab." "Yeah, just walking about it all. Um, whatcha discussin'?" "Going through some burst transmissions we intercepted from one of Eggman's bases. We're not sure if it's something serious." Sally said. "Didn't think Eggman would be up to his own agenda so soon. But then again it has been a week..." Kor says while scratching his ear.

"Knowing Eggman it could be anything. I'll see if I can try to cut through the clutter to make out a readable message." Says the lynx on the screen. "So whose the lady you guys are talking to?" "Oh, forgot we hadn't met each other yet, my name is Nicole. I'm an advanced artificial intelligence." Kor raised an eyebrow. He's seen tons of different A.I.'s before, but none have had an avatar or showed anything with human-like features. "Advanced A.I. huh? So how advanced are you?" "Well, I can manipulate most machinery and computer systems as well as hack into almost any database. Eggman's usually don't seem to give me much issues in getting information." The lynx responded.

"Nicole has been a friend of ours for a long time and aided us on multiple occasions. If it weren't for her, some of the missions we had done in the past would have taken longer or not been possible to do." Sally chimed in. "Ah I see. Welp, given that she's already showing signs of emotion she's got to be the most advanced A.I. I've ever met. My sentry's A.I is just basic." Nicole smiled. "Why thank you. I take it you're enjoying your time as a new Freedom Fighter?" "Well, it's only been an hour but yeah." Kor said, fidgetting with his robotic hand.

"So what was your sentry's A.I. like?" Nicole asks. "Well, they were just programmed to shoot the enemy team using color coding, since both teams wore distinctive clothing, and basic targetting by scanning an area constantly. However at some point I figured out how to edit their targetting protocols, which came in handy when Gray killed my boss and we had to fight his army. Couldn't have them shooting the BLUs at that point." He chuckles at this, then goes into thought. "However, I have a new project in my head I want to start."

The others grow curious. "What kind of project? Is it something dangerous?..." Sally asks with a questionnable look in her eye. "...Sort of. Look I'm not gonna go rogue on you guys, it's just something I can build and could be useful later on. However, I'm gonna need to work on it in secret so no one will know of it until it's finished." "Well, I guess we can allow you to do that. You sure you won't need any help on it? We have plenty of resources." Rotor offered. "Nah, I got it covered, mostly. Plus a large number of materials come from my home world. Also please don't let anyone else know about this. It's very sensitive right now." "Hmm...alright. Good luck on whatever you're going to make." Says Rotor. Kor then takes his cue to leave the HQ.

After Kor leaves, Sally discusses the matter with the other two. "Nicole? Can you do a favor for me?" "Sure." "Can you keep an eye on Kor, just to make sure he doesn't end up blowing himself up or his invention falls into the wrong hands?" "I can do that. I just need to find out where he'll make his project." Nicole says, then brings up the first issue. "I finished decrypting some of the transmissions. They just appear to be about fixing damage done to the base and increasing security, probably to keep Sonic out."

"Well that's solved at least." Rotor looks at Sally with a questionnable glance. "You don't trust Kor enough to handle things on his own do you?" "It's not that I don't trust him, it's just that he can be a very dangerous person to deal with at times, especially when he has a large tool at his disposal. I just don't want him to go over his head and end up doing something he'll regret. He's also technically a rookie Freedom Fighter at this point." Sally says in thought. "True, I just wonder what exactly he wants to build. Given how he talks about his sentries he wouldn't have an issue building one in plain site." Rotor points out. "True, but we promised him we wouldn't speak of it to anyone. It'd be pretty bad if someone undesirable got word of it." Sally says before walking out of the lab.

**A/N: And end of the second chapter. What does Kor plan to make? Will it be something beneficial for all, or will it blow up in his face like a Demoman's sticky bomb? Tune in next chapter to find out.**** By the way if you want information about Kor's backstory you can check my profile. It will also be fleshed out alittle as this story goes on.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Time for chapter 3! Ahead of time there will be some mild swearing in this one. Anyway, let's see what that engineer has planned to make.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my OC. Soldier belongs to Valve.**

For the next 2 weeks, Kor resided himself to his house to draw up the plans for his project. A decent-sized mound of paper had formed in his trash can from discarded ideas. However, today he managed to draw up something he thought seemed good enough. "_Well damn, took awhile but hopefully if everything goes as well as I hope in mah head, this beauty will give Eggman's forces a bad day"_. He chuckled to himself at that.

On the blueprint it had a robot that roughly resembled a flying insect with a large shell. The face has 2 pairs of eyes, the lower ones being the biggest along with a large mouth that had 2 pincers with it. The drawing also depicts it having 4 metallic wings that fold into its body when not in use, 6 legs in total of equal size, and having a long metallic tail. A circle is drawn around the tail with what looks to be a minigun or rotary cannon to be placed there. Two squares are drawn in the middle of the robot to show internal compartments to be used as weapon bays. Kor takes a moment to look over the design before rolling the blueprint up and heading to his basement. There, a teleporter from his old days as a merc sits running. He steps onto it and vanishes from the room.

Last week Kor had found a sizeable outpost in the middle of the forest that was a good distance away from Knothole. The old place looked to be used by Gray, given that he saw a dead robot based off the Engineer, his old job. He still chuckles at the fact he's using his dead foe's facility for his own purposes. It also took a hell of a time getting the electrical systems together, including shocking himself a couple times, but he managed to get the generator and computer systems up. After the red fox teleports in he places the blueprint on the table.

"Hmm, I have an idea about what kind of missiles and rockets to use, but what about the gun..." He racks his brain about possible placements. He did have the thought to use a copy of the Heavy's minigun, much like how he saw one with the giant robot versions of him, but he deduced it lacked the firepower needed to punch through heavily armored targets. Sure, with some upgrades, "Sasha" could punch through multiple enemies, but Eggman's robots were tough customers, much tougher than Gray's. When Eggman worked with that old man, Heavy had an issue punching through those things with his gun, even with the upgrades.

However, Kor then gets an idea. "Hmm, maybe Ol' Solly can get me a few favors." He walks over to his other teleporter, which leads to his home world and teleports out. Some time ago, he managed to connect to a teleporter that was left standing in of the bases the mercs used, and this one led to the base known as Hydro. He exits out the teleporter and looks around the place. The base has shown its age due to lack of combat but thankfully the generator still runs.

He grabs a nearby phone and dials a number, then waits a couple seconds before hearing a familiar voice. "WHO IS THIS?! HOW DID YOU GET THIS NUMBER?! YOU BETTER BE A RIB MAN OR SOUP CAN SALEMAN OR I REACH THROUGH THIS PHONE AND SNAP YOUR NECK!" Apparently, Soldier somehow managed to get into the army and is almost a general. Kor still wonders how he even got into it in the first place knowing how insane the man is, especially since he was denied by _every military branch _in the past, but then again his roommate was a magician for God's sake.

"Solly, ease up pardner. It's me." "Kor? Haven't heard from you in months, how's the whole fox journey treatin' you?" Soldier says with a chuckle. "Alright I guess. Hey listen, think you can get me a some weapons from the army?" "Sure thing! If any weapon is good it's an American-made one! I would love to see the poor son of a bitch who meet the end of my-" Kor shakes his head. "Yeah, before you go on ramblin' about that I need the best rotary cannon they have along with some good rockets and missiles." "Can do! I'll place the order and have them mailed to ya within the day! Speaking of which, did you kill the fat basterd on that other world yet?" "Nope, not yet at least." "Well when you do kill him, you look him in the eyes and smash him with your boot! Then you send his fat communist carcass in a box to his-" "Ok first he's not even communist, and I'll be waiting at Hydro for the shipment." "Alright. Take care fox maggot!" After hanging up, Kor shakes his head. "Guess some things never change." He smiles with a chuckle.

**-Back in Knothole-**

While Kor was busy getting his weapons, Nicole was monitoring some systems outside of Knothole in her database. Sally reported that Kor didn't appear to be in his house, so they figured he already left to work in privacy. However, being an advanced A.I. had its perks. She noticed that a computer system had been activated recently. The location was a couple miles away from Knothole, and then she realized it was an old outpost that had been used by Gray in the past. She quickly connects with her handheld computer, which was with Sally at the moment. Currently, Sally was trying to find her brother to discuss something with him.

"Sally, I need to talk with you about an important matter." "Sure. What is it?" "There's been a computer system reactivated at an outpost from our late enemy." "You have any idea who it is?" "No, but chances are it might be Eggman looking for old files he could use against us." Sally ponders this. "Could be...however Kor hasn't been seen lately and knowing Gray was his enemy, it could be him as well. Think you can sneak into the system and see whose using the terminal?" "Sure. With a system as old as that they wouldn't notice me intruding."

With that, Nicole unplugs herself from her handheld and homes in on the location of the terminal. Over the months, Nicole had been getting steadily stronger in being able to hack systems at a distance. She still preferred to be jacked in manually as it's easier and doesn't put much strain on her systems. Since the location was a couple miles it only gave a faint signal, but with some boosting she managed to enter the old system.

As she looks around throughout the terminal it doesn't appear that Eggman has accessed it. However, she comes across a few files that had been uploaded recently. She opens it and finds blueprints with designs on them. To her, it almost looks like an improved version of Eggman's badnik series of buzz bombers, yet she can tell it was drawn by someone else. As she studies it more, she hears a whirring sound in the room. Cautiously she uses a webcam to see what it was. Her surprise comes as a shock when she sees Kor stepping off a device while trying to push some heavy boxed-up machinery stacked on each other. "Kor?!" She said, accidentally talking through the computer's speaker system. "Nicole?!" In his surprise, he ends up pushing the boxes a little too fast and the one on top falls on him with a loud crash. "Ow..."

**A/N: Looks like Nicole stumbled upon something she wasn't supposed to see. Also in relation to the robot Kor will be working on, if you ever saw the movie Wreck-it Ralph it looks similar to a normal cy-bug, with obvious modifications to it. Anyway hope you all enjoyed this one. These chapters are steadily getting longer.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here comes number 4. Also Gandai thank you for bringing some stuff to my attention. This story is a sequel to another, but I will write the prequel at a later date.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my OC.**

"So how exactly did you find this place? I thought it was hidden well enough..."Kor said while leaning against a dispenser he built shortly after being partially crushed by a box. He winces a little as the healing beam slowly mends his back to health. "I thought it might have been Eggman looking for old information from Gray to use against us. Thankfully it's not that, but are you alright? That box looks heavy..." Nicole said with a worried look in her eyes. "Yeah, I'll be right as rain after this old thing finishes healin' me. Ain't as strong as the doc's medigun but it still gets the job done." He taps the dispenser affectionately.

"So what kind of device is that? It doesn't look like any of the sentries you described." "Well, this is a dispenser. It's purpose is to heal allies as well as constantly dispense ammo. Mainly useful so I don't have scrounge around for materials and ammo to maintain my stuff." Kor says, temporarily revisiting some memories. "I see...but what exactly is this that would require such weapons?..." Nicole asks, pulling the blueprint on the computer screen. Kor sighs at this. "Supposed to be a surprise...but it's a combat robot I'm building to help fight Eggman."

He looks back at the weapons he got from Soldier. "And lookin' at all this it's obvious I'm gonna have to redesign some stuff..." "Like what?" "Well for one, this gun is a helluva lot bigger than I anticipated, so I'm gonna have to increase the size of the entire bot just to fit the drum in there, then I gotta recalibrate some stuff, develop a new software and tracking system...ugh, this damn thing's gonna take months to make." "What about all the sentries you've claimed to build? They didn't sound as challenging to make." The A.I. pointed out. "Well yeah, cause I could just copy their software and give them different weapons to use, but this bot needs a whole new program to work with if it wants to be successful."

Nicole thinks over this for a minute. While Kor is capable of making it himself, knowing Eggman he is likely to have a plan set in motion well before Kor could even hope to finish. Plus, it could help their newest Freedom Fighter become a great asset. "How about I help? I can help develop a new program for it as well as the tracking systems." Kor shakes his head. "Nah, you don't have to. I have some ideas in mind." Nicole crosses her arms. "But how long do you think it will take you to finish?" "Um...8 months?" Kor shrugged.

"That sounds way too long to develop something Kor, and Eggman could be ready to enact another plan of his well before then." Kor stared at the A.I. for a minute before sighing in defeat. "True...alright Nicole you can help, but promise not to let anyone know you're helping me on this." "Noted." "And, I'll return the favor for ya when ya need it." Nicole smiles but shakes her head. "You don't have to Kor. It's my job to assist the Freedom Fighters in any way I can." "I know I don't have to, but I want to. Wouldn't be fair to you if you didn't help me after all of this." Nicole pauses for a moment, deep in thought. "Hmm...alright, there actually is something I could use help on. Have you ever heard of Nanite City?" "Nope. Please do tell."

**-Hours later: In Knothole-**

Sally looked thoughtfully out of her window, watching the sun set. Nicole had left a few hours ago and hadn't check back since. _"I hope Nicole is alright...it shouldn't be a problem for her to scout a location from an old computer to grab intel...what if it is Eggman there and he managed to capture her? Maybe I should organize a search and rescue team..."_ As if to quell her thoughts, Nicole reappears in her PDA. Instinctively, the chipmunk grabs it. "Nicole! Are you alright?!" "Yes Sally, I'm fine. It turns out that location is being used by Kor to build his project in privacy. He also says not to let anyone else know about it." Sally sighed on both accounts.

"Anything else?" "Um, nope that's it!" Nicole said with a cheesy smile. Sally looks at her questioningly before dismissing it. "Well, at least that's resolved. However now I need to put together a scouting team." "What's the issue?" Nicole asked. "While you were away, me and Rotor had contact with Knuckles. They're doing ok but it seems Rouge stole the master emerald. She plans on selling it to the highest bidder and with crooks like Mammoth Mogul and Ixis Naugus still out there, I don't want to think about what would happen if they get it first..." "I don't want to think about that either." Nicole shudders at the thought. "Who will you be taking?" "Myself, Sonic, Bunnie, and Antoine should be able to handle it."

**-New Megaopolis-**

New Megaopolis, the Eggman Empire's capital city and Eggman's largest base. The big Egg himself was staring out a window in his office, looking over his city. He was mulling over how his last partnership hadn't gone well. Somehow, Gray managed to take control for himself and tried to wipe everyone out, but was put 6 feet under by that former RED engineer. Eggman chuckled to himself, as when Gray had been put down, he managed to merge what was left of the man's robots into his own ground forces, and with some upgrades they made a considerable threat. He also had a new plan to wipe out those ever so annoying Freedom Fighters.

Calmly, he walks over to the intercom on his desk and presses the talk button. "Snively, how is production of the Egg Fleet coming?" "Production rating is a 110% sir. Estimates are that it should finish on time or ahead of schedule, and a certain project of yours has begun." "Excellent." Eggman's mouth grew into a huge smile. "Soon Sonic, you and your so-called pals will face the might of the Eggman empire. And this time, there will be nothing that can stop me!" He said before giving off his signature laugh.

**A/N: Went through this chapter again to do some editing. Found several errors since I kinda rushed to get this one out. Anyway, it looks like there are plans on both sides. How exactly will this turn out? Tune in next time to see for yourself. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Time for chapter 5. Also for those who have read the comics you might get where the timeline is at this point. Also if anyone asks, no the drone can't copy the abilities of whatever it eats.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my OC.**

Over the next 4 months, Kor and Nicole had made very good progess. Thanks to the advanced A.I., they had effectively cut down the time it would take to build the robot and integrate its systems. When making the software for it, Nicole had given the bot some personality so it wouldn't just be a mindless drone. Kor believed this would be very useful so it could think for itself and he wouldn't have to direct it everywhere. At the moment he was tweaking the robots main engine so it would be able to fly faster on maximum payloads. Nicole was in Knothole running diagnostics on something entirely different.

"Man, I should've asked for help alot sooner. You're almost ready for yer combat debut buddy." Kor said as he patted its head. In response the robot lifted up alittle in agreement. "Easy now. Hold still so I don't mess this up." He said before continuing to reconnect the wires. After he was done he bolted the opening shut. "There ya go. Now y'all should be able to fly faster without overheatin that thing." The bot grunted in agreement. "Now just gotta make sure yer interface is workin' properly." The robots eyes by default are yellow, but they change color when it switches views: Red for thermal, green for night vision, and for a newer mode that took a month to perfect, blue for electromagnetic view.

While the first 2 are self explanatory, the latter is for being able to see a 3D scan of the area in adverse conditions such as fog. It also still picks up metallic objects such as guns and vehicles while outlining non-metallic objects like trees and bushes. It can also see through buildings. "_I sure owe Nicole alot for this, even though I'm already helpin her with this Nanite City. She may be a computer but she's as much of a mobian as the rest of us."_ Once confirming the robot can see through all interfaces, he glances at the clock. "Shit, I'm gonna be late for that wedding. I'll be back in abit pardner." He said to his robot before taking a teleporter back to his house.

Aside from Kor's project becoming successful, things were taking shape around Knothole. It turns out that the mission to retreive the master emerald was actually a decoy set up by Rouge to lure out any big time villians, and Mammoth Mogul and Ixis Naugus took the bait. It ended up with the 2 of them along with Nack, Bean, and Bark arrested. Kor also learned that Antoine proposed to Bunnie around that time as well. He congradulated the 2 when he came back to Knothole frequently as to not arouse suspicion on his whereabouts.

While he was putting on a tuxedo, he heard a knock on his door. "Hey Kor! You ready yet?" It was Sonic. "Give me a minute!" He said while fixing his tie. "Always hated wearin' these..." Kor muttered to himself before opening the door. "Sup Sonc, Tails." "Hey, looking sharp today buddy!" Sonic greeted. "Eh, I guess but in honesty I hate dressin' up like this." "Aw come on it's not that bad." "Says the Best Man, and plus you never wear a shirt every time I see you." "Yeah. I'm not a fan of these either but we do it cause we're supposed to." Tails chimed in. "So where's the groom at?" Kor asked. "He's in his house getting cold feet." Sonic stated. Kor and Tails chuckled at this. "Hah, I remember how that felt." "You were married before Kor?" Tails asked. "Yeaaah, but it didn't work out in the end. I'd rather not go into detail about it..." Kor said as they entered Antoine's house.

Once inside they found Vector and Charmy giving advice to the nervous coyote. He even had a glass of water in his hands to try to calm his nerves, yet it wasn't helping. "Besides, you haven't fainted in public since...awhile ago! So you've got nothin' to worry about." Vector said. "Yeah! Marriage may have its ups and downs, but I'm sure you two will be happy!" Charmy adds in. "Heh, _Vector_ giving advice?" Sonic chuckled at this. "Whether he wants it or not. Ready to be the best man?" Knuckles asked. "I've _always_ been the best man." Sonic grins, then looks around. "Say, where's Espio?" "He's on a mission. He said he'll be back in time before the ceremony." "Ok, but alone?" Knuckles shrugs. "You know Espio. He thinks he can do anything." "Well he is a ninja after all. Heck, he's probably better than Rouge at spying." Sonic, Knuckles, and Kor chuckle at this before the fox quickly adds, "Don't tell her I said that though. Last thing I want is to get kicked in the face..." Sonic and Knuckles then start to laugh.

At the same time, Sally and her former nanny Rosie Woodchuck were helping the bride prepare, though unlike her fiancee she was wholeheartedly excited. Currently Bunnie was looking at herself while wearing her wedding dress. "Wow Sally you sure know how to make a dress!" "Isn't it ironic how when you came to us, you wanted to be my hair stylist?" Sally said with a chuckle. "And I sure will, when I'm not smashing badniks or spendin' time with mah man." "I'm really happy for you Bunnie. Antoine's a good man." The chipmunk said to her best friend. "I still thank the lucky stars I have him. We both lost so much, but at least now we have each other." Bunnie says while hugging Sally. "And I'm proud of you both. You've both done so much to protect us for so long and have grown into lovely, competent young ladies!" Rosie adds. "Thank you Rosie! And maybe Sal will follow my lead and marry soon too" Bunnie says with a knowning grin. "Oh yes! Someone handsome and brave, and _blue_..._"_ Rosie teases. "Oh no you 2 don't! I'm prefectly happy being single right now." Sally says with a grin. "_Sure_ you are." Both Bunnie and Rosie say before all 3 begin to laugh.

**-New Megaopolis-**

In Eggman's greatest city, 3 badniks are seen patrolling around a section the city. What they didn't know was that a certain chameleon just walked right past them. Espio, while maintaining his invisibility, scales the wall of one of the main factories before making his way into an air shaft. His mission was to find out if Eggman had any plans up his sleeve, given that he's been quiet the last 4 months. As he infiltrates the building further, he accidentally bumps into what he assumes is a robot. Instinctively he readies 2 ninja stars, only to find that what he bumped into was actually the hand of a ready made battle suit.

"Battle Armor? What does Eggman have planned this time?..." As he continues on, he reaches one of the main computer terminals. On the screen, it showcases the Egg Fleet's production rating of the various ships built, the status of the aforementioned battle armor, and what Eggman plans to do with it all. Worse yet, there was a schedule saying the attack is supposed to happen _tonight_. Espio's face pales. "Oh no...I've got to get back and warn everyone!" He takes off back the way he came.

However, despite all his training, in his panic he forgets to conceal himself, and in the process gets spotted by a patrolling flying badnik. "Intruder detected! Priority: Eliminate!" More badniks converge on Espio's location, firing lasers at him. Luckily, he manages to slip into the air shaft and make it outside. Problem is: more badniks were waiting for him! He manages to dodge a multitude of laser fire, even dispatching one badnik in the process. He sees the perimeter wall just 100 ft ahead of him. _"If I can make it over that wall, I can disappear and get back in time to warn the others..."_ Unfortunately for Espio, badniks line the top of the wall, with more encircled around him.

With him trapped, Eggman makes his appearance. He's also wearing a hand from the battle suit. "So, snooping as usual I see? Obviously you aren't as clever as you think you are!" Eggman taunts the chameleon. "I've seen your plans. I know what you're going to do, and it will never work! They'll see you coming, and they'll rescue me!" Espio shouted in defiance. Eggman simply chuckles. "Ha! Obviously you didn't read the report clearly." He says before zapping Espio with the hand of the battle suit from earlier, appearing to have atomized him. "They won't stand a chance!" Eggman says to himself before going to finish putting his plan into action.

**-Nanite City-**

Kor was currently below the city, working on some generators and installing some holo-matrices that would help Nicole maintain her holographic form all around the place. He arrived there a couple hours after the wedding. It went over well, and the newly weds were happily spending time alone at the moment. "Got to hand it to Nicole. She sure knows a lot about interior decorating." He said with a chuckle before using a blowtorch to mend a piece of metal to a generator. He was told the city was to resemble a place called Mobotropolis, an old city everyone used to live in before they had to relocate to Knothole. Apparently Mobotropolis had been taken over by Eggman years prior and then destroyed by a nuclear strike from a city called Station Square, a place run by humans.

After hearing about the nuke attack, Kor wasn't surprised the city was now a radiation minefield. For defensive measures, the Nanite City had a protective wall as well as a strong shield to stop attacks from damaging the city. However, while this seemed ok, Kor believed it wouldn't be enough, so he planned to install sentry batteries along the wall so at least the city could fend off attacks better. But, he needed to make sure these generators were working properly first. Plus, Eggman had abandoned the city long ago so he wouldn't attack it any time soon. He never realized how wrong he was.

"Kor! Kor are you down here?!" It was Nicole, and by the sound of her voice she seemed distressed about something. "Yeah!" He turns the torch off as Nicole runs over to him. "What's wrong?" "Knothole's under attack!" Kor was shocked by the news. "What?! By who?!" "It's Eggman! He's burning the entire village to the ground with a new air fleet he built! Everyone's being vaporized on the spot! It's complete chaos over there! It's-" As Nicole began to spazz out in fear, Kor quickly grabbed her shoulders and shakes her alittle so she'd stop.

"Nicole calm down! Maybe there's something we can do to save what we can. Go back and try to help whoever you can, I'll be there soon." Nicole nods before disappearing. After she does Kor quickly runs to his teleporter. "_Dammit! I didn't think Eggman would attack this soon! And by the way Nicole described it none of us saw it coming..."_ After teleporting into his secret lab, his robot looks up, detecting it's creator's stress and grunts questioningly. "Alright buddy, I was hopin' to have you do a test run before attacking Eggman's forces but I guess _they'll_ be the test run..."

**A/N: And that's all she wrote. Initially I was wondering about whether or not to have Eggman's attack in the next chapter but decided to add it in anyway. Also I'm still wondering on what to name the new robot. If anyone's got an suggestions I'm open to them.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: It's time for chapter 6! With Knothole being razed to the ground and everyone dying let's see how the heroes will over come this.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my OC.**

After doing some last minute preparations, Kor's robot offically began its mission. Outside, part of the ground opens up to allow the robot to ascend. Once it does, it speeds off towards Knothole; the former engineer rides on its head. Despite being a few miles from the village, he sees a sight he would never forget. If one were to enforce a scorched earth policy for Knothole, this scene would fit the bill. Everything as far as the eye could see was either destroyed or burning to the ground. Kor couldn't pick out what various buildings were due to all the rubble and fires. What he did notice was a ton of flying ships in the air, no doubt the fleet Nicole had mentioned earlier.

"Hell...Eggman sure wasn't playin' around this time..." He taps the bot's head. "Keep just above the trees, don't want 'em to spot us..." The bot did as instructed. Kor then decides to direct the bot over to Freedom HQ. "I sure as hell hope that place is still standin'...also I hope Sonic and the others didn't get caught in this shitstorm..."

Meanwhile at the HQ, Amy and Knuckles manage to dig themselves out of the rubble just as Sonic and Tails arrive. Sonic looked like he'd been slammed by a truck and the driver tried to double tap. Amy immediately starts barraging Sonic with questions.

"Sonic! What happened to you?! Why is there so much smoke coming from Knothole?! What happened to our homes?!" "Knothole's gone Amy...the Egg Fleet burned it to the ground..." "Oh no! What about everyone else?!" Before Sonic could answer Amy's question they hear what sounds like helicopter blades. They all look up and see a large insect-like robot. They prepare for a possible attack, until they see Kor on its head. He jumps off and runs to them. "Thank God y'all are still alive! I saw everythin' burning down on the way over..." "Way to be late to the party Kor..."Sonic says with a bit of a glare. Kor just rubs the back of his head nervously.

"Yeah...well at least I didn't get atomized by Eggman..." "Actually," Sonic says, getting everyone's attention, "They aren't dead, they were captured. Eggman zapped them all into his Egg Grapes." "Egg Grapes?" Knuckles asked. "They're prison pods that turn life-force into fuel, or whatever. I was kinda busy being beaten up to catch all of Eggman's ranting." "Well that would explain why you look like you got thrashed by a Heavy." Kor said. He pauses for a moment. "We're gonna need a plan. I know for one none of us are gonna take this lyin' down." "I already have one. You guys can start fixing up the HQ. I'm going to to see what I can take from the lab and get our friends and families back."

Everyone else begins to object to this. "You can't go after them alone Sonic." Tails says, yet Sonic remains stubborn. "You'll all be safer here. I'll get them back, don't worry." "But you'll have to deal with the Egg Fleet _and_ his badnik army, not to mention his battle suit!" "Tails, I've got this..." "Oh like you had Knothole a few minutes ago?! That _really_ helped a lot there! Or does your plan involve you getting your butt kicked again?!" Tails says. Both Sonic and Tails stare at each other for a minute before Kor intervenes. "Tails has a point Sonic. It'd be suicide to go in alone with the amount of arms Eggman has right now. Only way we can save everyone is with a well-coordinated plan." Suddenly they hear Nicole speaking from her PDA, which was buried in the rubble nearby. "Well said Kor, and if anyone's interested, I have a plan."

**-New Megaopolis-**

Eggman and Snively enter a giant silo named 'Egg Vineyard'. With his latest plan having succeeded, the doctor couldn't help but gloat to his prisoners. Everyone is giving him a look ranging from disgust to a glare.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mobians of all ages! I would like to thank you for providing such an entertaining resistance for so very long. It's made running my global empire much more exciting and enjoyable! You Freedom Fighters have been very amusing, as well as very_ annoying_. You were always willing to give your lives for your cause, and I was always willing to take them!" He chuckles a bit. "You Chaotix knew that as well, making you all the more _stupid_ for aiding them. And as for the everyone else, you have all been wonderful pawns in this game of chess, but as they say, check mate! Oh ho ho ho ho!"

After composing himself, Eggman continues. "Now then, I'm going to demonstrate to you all just what these Egg Grapes can do. The process will be accellerated but not less potent." An evil grin forms on his face. "And just to make sure you're all petrified before the end..." A claw reaches down and grabs the cell containing Charmy, bringing him up to Eggman and Snively's level. "Ah Charmy Bee. Haven't I ruined your life already? Destroyed your kingdom or something right?" Charmy huffs. "Yes you have. But despite all that, I've fought for our planet no matter what you did! I will still fight for Mobius, and I'm not alone!" The other prisoners applaud Charmy for this. "Brave _last_ words. Snively?" Eggman gestures to his nephew. "With pleasure sir." Snively says and activates the pod. It begins to drain Charmy's life force.

However, during Eggman's victory speech, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Kor, and Nicole were speeding toward the city on Kor's robot. Knuckles and Amy gasp in shock as they passed the ruined village, the fires having burned out by then. As they reach the outer wall, Kor's robot makes it's combat debut by opening fire on the random badniks around the area with its main gun. The robots are cut to pieces easily, and as they press further Knuckles and Amy clear a path. With the silo in sight, Kor orders the bot to ram right through the wall. They breach just after Snively activated Charmy's pod.

"Knock knock suckers!" Kor yells with a crazy grin on his face. "Don't start the party without us Eggman! We...what's that light?" Sonic says, looking at the pod at the very top. Knuckles gaps when he gets a clear look. "Charmy!" "No! I can't be too late again!" Sonic yells. "Just shut up and GET UP THERE!" Kor yells. Nicole suddenly beeps in Tails' hand. "Nicole?" "I'm reading an access port up tip. Plug me in! Hurry!" Tails nods before beginning his ascent. "Everyone stick to the plan! Amy, Knuckles, Kor, bust everyone out!" Tails shouts.

At those words, the 3 begin to smash the pods open: Amy and Knuckles using their sheer strength while Kor uses his robotic hand. However, he grimaces a bit as the constant abuse on the hand is damaging it. _"__Damn, anymore and this thing'll fall apart..."_ He then switches to his wrench, which helps do the job just fine. Kor's robot continues to hover outside to prevent any reinforcements from interfering. At the top of the silo, Eggman is shocked to see Sonic.

"But how?! You're supposed to be beaten! Your spirit broken!" "Shows how smart you are." Sonic says before breaking open Charmy's pod. The young bee appears to be weak and on the verge of slipping into unconsciousness, causing Sonic to glare Eggman. "I'm going to make sure Charmy's ok. You get that much of a head start Eggman..." At this Eggman and Snively make a run for it. "You said you caught them all! You missed 4!" Eggman yells at his lackey. "4 out of how many hundred?!" Snively yells indignantly. "Oh shut up and run!"

Tails makes it up to the command console, ripping off the cover and plugs Nicole in. "How does it look?" Tails asks. "Eggman hasn't put up a defensive system yet. I'll need only a minute." Down below, Dr. Quack is checking on Charmy's condition. "Will he be ok?" Saffron askes, a worried look in her eyes. "I don't have my tools with me, but his condition is stable. Sonic got to him just in time." Everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief. Then Sally gets a good look at Sonic, who is still aching from his battle with Eggman. "You ok Sonic?" "Hanging in there Sal." Sonic says, giving a small smirk. "Good, cause now we have to move. Everyone, let's go!" Everyone then starts piling out of the opening Kor's robot made.

Tails hears Sally's command. "Nicole, we have to go." "That's fine. I've done all I can from here, I'll finish preparations when we get home." Tails becomes confused at this, given that their home was just destroyed. "Wait, home?" "Sorry Tails but there's no time to explain. Just stay with the group." "Alright. Hope this plan works..." Tails says before leaving the silo. With everyone leaving, and as part of the plan, Kor tells his robot to leave the city and head for a certain set of coordinates. He watches it leave before asking, "You sure we'll be fine without it Nicole?" "Don't worry. Hopefully if everything goes as planned we'll see it land when we get there." Nicole says assuringly.

While everyone's making a run for it, Sally keeps asking Sonic if he was sure their plan would work. He only respondes that Nicole came up with it. As they continue through the city, everyone stops and pales as they see Eggman in the same battle suit he used to beat Sonic. "W-was this part of the plan?" Sally asks. "Believe it or not." Sonic says with a grin. "I told you, I'm done playing games with you Sonic. Now get back in those Egg Grapes!" Eggman says before beginning to capture everyone via teleportation, or so it seems.

With most of everyone teleported Sonic, Sally, and a few other mobians end up cornered in an alley way. However, during Eggman's rampage Snively notices something was wrong. "Um, sir?" "Not now Snively. I have the rest trapped!" "But sir! The teleporting beam is-" Snively begins before being cut off. "It's working fine! Now shut up and let me savor this moment!" Eggman says before cutting comms with him. "Sonic, can you cut through this wall? Maybe to a way out?" Sally asks. "Probably, but not this time." Sonic says with a smile. Sally looks at him like he's lost his mind. "And why exactly?!" "Can't explain right now. Don't want Eggman to overhear and ruin the surprise." Sonic says with a chuckle. "Sonic-!" Was all Sally could say before she got zapped.

"Well, this is a first for you Sonic. Two colossal failues in one day! Won't you put up a fight for old time's sake?" "And give you the pleasure? Not likely." Sonic says with arms crossed. "Fine then. Join your friends in oblivion!" Eggman says before zapping him. "See ya on the flip side _loser_." Sonic says, giving him a thumbs up. Eggman jumps with glee. "Yes! I've finally won! Don't start the Egg Grapes until I'm there Snively!" "But sir! I've been trying to tell you! There's no one in the Reserve Egg Grapes! The teleportation frequency was tampered with!" Eggman then stands there, dumbfounded. He couldn't believe he fell for such an obvious ploy. After snapping out of his shock, he yells into the mic. "I'm remote launching the Egg Fleet now! Track that frequency and tell me where they are!" "I've already got it sir!" "Well?! Where are they?!" "They've been sent to...the _Nanite City_?!"

**Engineer: In hindsight, and I have the comic, if Eggman was really serious about winning he would've killed Sonic when he had the chance.  
>Eddy: What? And ruin the plot?<br>****Engineer: True.**

**A/N: And I hope y'all enjoy readin' this part. Boy this one had several mis-spellings, good thing I'm re-editting this stuff.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Time for part 7! Haven't been getting any reviews lately but thanks for reading it anyways. So, the heroes arrive at the Nanite City, where they get a huge surprise in store for them (minus the two who built it). Let's see how they handle it.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my OC.**

When the rest of the mobians arrived at the city, they greeted by a great surprise. The Nanite City had been reshaped to resemble Mobotropolis long before it had succumbed to being an inhabitable wasteland. Everything had been designed down to the last brick it seems, even a clone of the infamous Lake of Rings that had long dried out had been replenished. And to top it all off, "Look Father! Castle Acorn! As it was in the days of our long lost city!" Elias proclaimed with joy. Even his stoic father was starting to shed tears of joy.

"That was what we had intended your highness." At the sound of the voice, everyone turned and was greeted by a great surprise. There before them stood Nicole in her very life-like holographic form. She resembled a mobian lynx with brown fur, having small black streaks on her face, and she was wearing a purple striped toga. It was a form the other Freedom Fighters had not seen since the loss of the original Mobotropolis. "This was something we've been perparing for quite awhile now. Dr. Eggman's efforts forced us to reveal this before we were finished, but anyway...welcome to New Mobotropolis! I will be your hostess Nicole, and your host here is Kor." "Well, technically you did most of the work Nicky, I just helped." Kor chuckled, tapping his damaged robotic hand with his wrench in an effort to repair it. By now sparks were starting to fly from it. Nicole giggled at her nickname.

Sally, estatic to see her friend in her holo-form again, ran up and hugged her. "I didn't think you could maintain that form!" She said with a smile. While Nicole could project a holographic form of herself from her PDA, it put too much strain on her systems and she would tire out easily. "I couldn't until me and Kor had made something robust enough to maintain me. We built enough holographic matrices to give me full use of the city." "Good to have you back again Nicole." Sonic says with a smile.

Not a second too soon the other Freedom Fighters start to barrage her with questions. "Does the Lake of Rings really work?" "How do you have the power to support a physical form?" "Is it just like the old Mobotropolis?" "What are our defenses here?" Kor chuckled at this. "Settle down guys, we'll answer everything in time. "You've done a great deal for us you two. And all of you as well. Without you guys, none of us would've made it to see Nicole and Kor's beautiful city." Sally said genuinely. "Hah, yer startin to make me blush abit Sally." Kor said, rubbing his head with his flesh hand. "Don't congradulate us yet princess. It didn't take Eggman long to figure out what we did..." As Nicole said this, everyone looks up and see the Egg Fleet approaching. Kor sighs. "I really wish I built them sentry batteries right now..."

Not only do they have to deal with the Egg Fleet, but among those rescued were Mammoth Mogul, Ixis Naugus, Bean, Bark, and Nack. However, Nicole had a contingency plan for them. While Mogul was ranting about making everyone submit to his will, Nicole teleported all 5 of them to specialized holding cells in the new prison. "Oh for Chaos' sake! How many times am I going to get thrown in a damn cell by those fucking Freedom Fighters?! I can't stand the indignity of it all!" Nack swears out loud.

Back outside..."Teleporting Mogul in mid-rant. Nice one Nicole." Sonic says with a chuckle. "I _am _the most advanced A.I. there is after all." Nicole boasts. "Can't argue with that." Sally says. Seconds later, gunfire from the Egg Fleet hits the shield, causing Nicole's form to dissipate a bit. "Nicole!" "Don't worry Sally, I'm fine. I just have to re-route power that would support this form to the shields. Eggman isn't holding back with this barrage." "I understand...but it's not fair! You've given us so much, and you can't even keep your body for long!" "Only until I can spare the energy, I will always be around." Nicole said before disappearing completely. "Don't fret Sally. Once we get rid of that fatass up there she'll be back." Kor said, then looks at his hand. "...Maybe I should've told Nicole I was ready to upgrade my hand before she left..." Sally looks at him with a glare. "...Not the best time for that?"

Thankfully Sonic gets her attention. "What now Sal? I've filled my plan-making quota for the year." "I trust that Nicole will keep us safe for a good while. We're too rattled from the attack to do much right now." "_If_ we could do much of anything right now." Elias adds. He then directs his attention to the other citizens. "Nicole and Kor took the time to build this city for us. Everyone should go out and find their new homes. Try to relax, keep your loved ones close to you, and be thankful we have them again." He finished, while at the end gesturing to his wife and child. He then turns to Sonic. "You should get some medical attention Sonic." "Aw come on." "That's a double-order mister." Sally adds. Sonic sighs in defeat. "Fine..." He walks off to find Dr. Quack. "Geez they're more relentless than Eggman's barrage..." He muttered to himself.

Throughout next hour, the Egg Fleet hadn't let up on the shield. "Just because I got roughed up a bit doesn't mean I need an special treatment..." The hedgehog said to himself. "Since when _didn't_ you get an special treatment?" Sonic turns to the voice and sees Rotor lying on a carriable stretcher with medical bandages wrapped around his midsection. Sonic gasps and runs over. "Rotor! Are you ok?!" "I'm fine. That's what I get for catching a couple hundred pounds of rock with my back, but Dr. Quack says I should be fine after some therapy." "I'm sorry dude...I should've been fast enough..." "No worries Sonic. Besides, I got to play the action hero for once." The walrus chuckles, but then casts a worried glance to the side. "It's Charmy I'm concerned about..."

After being in the life-drain process in those few seconds, Charmy appears to have had his brainwaves scattered. He can't think straight, he's showing signs of amnesia, and he constantly has this goofy look on his face. However, Saffron managed to get him to remember her name at least. Currently, Charmy was being given a full diagnostic by Dr. Quack.

"Is that a good sign doc?" Sonic asks. "We won't know the extent of his memory loss until he's had some time to recover. For now though, he seems better than I could've hoped." The duck replied. Working with Charmy and other patients was starting to give him a headache. However, he was still good enough to work on Sonic. "Now let me take look at you, although I'm not too concerned about you Sonic." "I'm touched." Sonic said, tapping his foot. "Given how hardy you are, along with the magic ring energy you have clinging to you, you're the safest out of all of us here. Plus your eye is almost fully healed." Once he finishes, Dr. Quack packs his stuff. "Well, you were my last patient Sonic. If you excuse me I need to spend time with my family." "Thanks doc, I'll make sure ya do." Sonic says, giving the doctor a thumbs up.

**-Below New Mobotropolis-**

While everyone else was spending time with their families, Kor was in the city's main control room monitoring the stress level of the shields from the Egg Fleet's attacks. So far they seem to be holding up well. "How long do you think they'll keep pecking away at the shield Nicole?" "Until they finally break through it seems. I anticipated they'd try to do this." The A.I. replied. Kor leaned back in his chair. "You know, back in my days the sound of gunfire would be music to my ears. However listening to this noise for hours may start to drive the folks insane." "And how exactly would this be music to you? If I don't keep the shields up our city will perish." Nicole said sternly.

"It just reminds me of when I just sit around and let my sentry do its business, that being killing whatever was in site. Speaking of which, I wanted to built some sentry batteries to fend off attackers but didn't have time to make them due to Eggman attacking." "I see. We'll see to that after the fleet is dealt with. Also I'll see what I can do for your hand." "Alrighty then." As Kor monitors the readings, he sees that something is hitting the shield close to the ground with a stronger attack force. "Nicole...you seein' this?" "Yeah...it's Eggman in his battle armor." "Welp, I'm going topside." The red fox says, getting up from his seat. "But Kor, your hand..." "I won't do much fightin, just gonna watch. I think Sonic has a plan for him this time." He said as goes to an elevator.

**-Outside-**

Indeed, Eggman was attacking the shield with melee attacks, but he wasn't doing any better than his ships. Not only that, he was still angry about being tricked by the heroes. "Come out and face me! You stole that city from me so I have rightful ownership of it! Stop hiding behind your stupid shield and fight me! I conquered and destroyed your first city! I toyed with you as you built your little forest getaway, then burned _that_ to the ground, and I've terrorized you for all of your pitiful lives! You will not rob me of my final victory! I won't allow it!"

"You done enjoying your tantrum or do you plan on shooting something other than the shield?" Sonic smirks as he exits the city via a door. Eggman becomes elated to see his long time archenemy. "Oh this is grand! I knew you wouldn't disappoint me rodent, but you were foolish enough to face me alone! Did I beat you too hard and knock the memory of our last battle from your head? This armor was made specifically to out-perform you at every level! It is impossible for you to beat me!" Sonic's smirk only grows. "Yeah, I figured as much. Which means you got nothing against these guys!" At those words, the other Freedom Fighters and Chaotix attack. Eggman is easily being overwhelmed. For something that was designed against Sonic, it wasn't built to stand up to attacks from the other heroes, especially when being attacked all at once.

To make his situation worse, a familiar sound cuts through the air. Above, Kor's robot, which had taken awhile to reach the city, finally arrives. Kor smirks at this, and simply points at Eggman. "Yer about to have a real bad day Eggman." At the same time, Bunnie charges up her arm cannon. "Yah shouldn't have riled us Eggman. On the other _hand..._I 've been savin' just fer ya!" The other heroes quickly move away as Bunnie and the flying drone fire at the dictator. The combination of both attacks completely obliterates the top portion of the suit, leaving a very surprised Eggman and the bottom portion. "Heavy hitter are done Sal." Bunnie says, blowing out the smoke from her cannon. "Second line, move in!" Sally commands.

The less stronger heroes attack the bottom portion of the suit, all the while Sonic starts giving Eggman a banter similar to what he gave him during their last fight. "For all your smarts doc, you totally miscalculated us. Did you really think we'd just roll over and give up? Also did you forget that I wasn't the _only _hero on Mobius? I can handle anything you dish out, but on the rare occasion that I can't, I can count on my friends to back me up!" The last leg of the battle suit is knocked off, leaving only a small pod floating in the air with Eggman sitting in it. "Face it Eggy, you don't have a leg to stand on!" "Augh! Shut up!" Eggman says defiantly. "You said this was all just a game to you..." Sonic says before spindashing the last portion of the battle suit, destroying it completely. "Nooooooooo!" Eggman yells before hitting the ground. "And we've chosen to continue. Game on Eggman." Sonic smiles, standing over his beaten foe.

"You're trespassing on royal grounds. As princess, I order you to call off your forces and retreat back to your city..." Sally says with a glare. "You won't get the last laugh here missy! Egg Fleet! FIRE!" At those words, the Egg Fleet sends a ton of missiles at the exposed heroes, even Eggman himself. Luckily however, part of the wall protecting the city stretches out and shields everyone at the last second. Nicole then appears from a holographic transmitter. "My friends are showing you more mercy than you deserve doctor...I _highly _recommend you retreat." To enforce her words, Kor's drone, which had dodged the income fire, points at Eggman with its gun spun.

At that moment, a flying badnik swoops in and Eggman jumps onto it. "You'll regret this you miserable vermin! I was just toying with you before but now it's _war_! I _will_ destroy all of you!" He yells as he flys away. The Egg Fleet also retreats back to New Megaopolis. "Gotta hand it to him. Man knows how to make an exit." Sonic says. "Yeah, but he doesn't know _when_ to make it." Sally adds. "So, new 'do for the occasion?" Sonic asks. "Just a little something symbolic. It shows I've got my mind and heart back on track." "Hah, I've never known you to be so girly Sal." Sonic teases. "Don't ruin the moment blue." Alright alright. Good to be back home again." Sonic finishes.

"Hey Kor?" Tails asks. "Yeah?" "I've been meaning to ask you, what exactly is that?" He says, pointing at the robot. "Ah, I'll tell everyone once we get to the airfield. Hey Nicole, can you open the shield to let our new friend in?." "Sure, I'll just register its ID into the system so it can pass through." After a minute and approval from Nicole the bot passes through the shield and heads for the newly built military base located in the northern sector of the city. "If everyone follow me please, there's somethin' I need to show y'all." Kor tells them.

A few minutes later and with everyone's attention, the fox gestures to his bot. "While I was also helping Nicole build this city, she was helping me design and build a combat robot that can give Eggman's forces a run for their money. It was built to withstand punishment and dish it back, and yes, this was why I wasn't seen all that often. I wanted it to be a surprise but it had make its first combat mission breaking all you guys out, and so far, I'm proud to say it worked wonderfully. Still haven't thought of a name yet though..." Kor finished, scratching his head, thinking for names.

"Gotta say Kor, that's a mean machine you got there." Sonic says. "Iz it going to be one of the defenzes to our city?" Antoine asks. "Well, was planning on it. It could conduct patrols now and then. I also planned to install defenses on parts of the wall to better fend off attackers." "What did you have in mind?" Sally asks. "Sentries." Kor chuckles, then thinks for a moment. "Hmm...I think I got a name for it." He turned to his bot, "From now on, you're military name will be K-1 Armored Gunship, but I'll call ya Killer Hornet since it sounds cute." The newly named Gunship grunted in approval. "You have any other ideas on making robots Kor?" Sally asked. "Not at the moment, but when I do..." He chuckles, "They'll probably be just as successful as this flying fortress behind me."

**A/N: And that's the end of that. With Eggman dealt with, the heroes have a new home to settle in. However, good things never last.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: It's time for Chapter 8! Please excuse the delay, had some stuff to take care of the last few days.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my OC.**

**-A week later-**

"You know guys, this place is really reminding me of the old days at home." Kor said with a smile. "Which would be?.." Tails asks with Rotor looking questioningly as well. "Oh you know, getting into the fight of our lives like every day it seems." Rotor shrugs. "Well, when you have to deal with someone like Robotnik for years, you kinda get used to it." "I mean, we had to deal with Knuckles being Enerjerk and Mogul got out of prison recently." "Trust us Kor. You'll see _alot_ of random things getting thrown at us." Tails said, which Kor chuckled in agreement. "Oh, and how's your new hand holding up?" "Alot better than my other one that's for sure. I owe you and Nicole one Rotor." Kor said, flexing the fingers his newest accomodation. "Heh, it was nothing buddy." The walrus replied.

Kor's new robotic hand was more robust than his last one. It was silver colored like most typical robotics and was comprised of some nanites Nicole used to help make it, which meant it could endure a good amount of abuse. Also, at Kor's request, the hand could open up and turn into a tri-barreled laser. The main downside was it could only fire for a good minute before the hand's core needed to recharge for 2 minutes. They finally had time to make it after recent events.

The last few of days were pretty hectic. First, Knuckles had been manipulated into becoming a demigod known as Enerjak and tried to rid the world of technology, but thankfully this was stopped when Sonic accessed his Super Form, and at the cost of Knuckle's father sacrificing himself to break a hex sealed on the master emerald. The second issue was that Mammoth Mogul used Tails, Mina, and Mighty to break out of prison. Afterwards, the old mammoth set up a now very popular casino in the Casino Night Zone where he planned to beat Sonic by simply _out-living_ him.

The good news however, was that after Eggman had captured Enerjak to use him as a giant battery, the demigod broke free and destroyed most of Eggman's forces. His _entire_ Egg Fleet was downed and 90% of his badnik horde was destroyed. Unfortunately, the crazed dictator gained some followers in the form of a group of echidnas known as the Dark Legion. From what the Freedom Fighters heard, the doctor promised to restore their cybernetics, which were taken away when Knuckles was Enerjak. Fortunately, they weren't that much of a threat.

**-New Megaopolis, or what's left of it-**

Most of the city was in ruin after Enerjak's rampage, and with Eggman's forces dwindling, the heroes pressed their assault. Currently, the Chaotix and Sonic were engaged with the newly formed Dark 'Egg' Legion. "Charge Chaotix! We got 'em on the ropes!" Vector yells as the group pushes through any legionnaire that stands before them. Sonic homing attacks a few before running alongside Knuckles. "You sure you guys need me here? This whole Legion thing is a joke." Knuckles gives Sonic an irritated look. "I'm the reason why these guys went to Eggman in the first place, so I'm responsible for them..." He then punches another enemy. "Come on it's not your fault Knux. They shouldn't be so dependent on cybernetics in the first place." "Still, I have to try to reason with them, which means I need to get to Lien-Da." Sonic shrugs. "Alright, I'll cover for you." He says before attacking another legionnaire.

Meanwhile, Lien-Da was sitting in a hover pod talking to Snively via radio. "I asked for reinforcements minutes ago! Where the hell are they?!" "In case you forgot, the Dark Egg Legion is the standing army now. We don't have any badnik reserves, at the moment, to help you." Snively says calmly. Lien-Da curses to herself before noticing Knuckles gliding up to her. "Lien-Da! I understand how important those cybernetics were to you, but working for Eggman isn't the best way to do it. He's just going to betray you in the end. Why don't you join us? We can help you any way we can." However, Lien-Da disagrees. "You so-called Guardians never knew what was right for us! And after all these years you still don't!" She says before retreating.

Knuckles sighs in frustration as the others catch up to him. "This area's clear. Great job everyone! I wonder how team 2 is doing." Vector says, stretching his arms. Julie-Su then uses one of her cybernetic locks to contact them. Saffron's voice is heard a second later. "Yes?" "How are you guys doing? We've just cleared area down here." Julie replies. "We're good! The boys just finished setting up the charges. If we blow up this tower, Eggman won't be able to communicate with half of Mobius!" "Sounds good. Think you guys can meet us at the rendezvous point?"

Saffron looks at the surrounding area. "Um...that's gonna be difficult. We got legionnaires approaching the tower..." Saffron says, looking outside. "Alright, we'll be there soon." Julie says before closing the line. She then gets another message, this time from Nicole. "Nicole?" "Julie-Su, it's urgent. We need Sonic back at HQ immediately!" "Alright I'll tell him." She then turns to the group. "They're gonna need back-up. The tower's being surrounded. Also Sonic you're needed back at the HQ. Something's going on over there." Sonic nods. "Think you guys can handle this without me?" "Don't worry Sonic! We got these chumps on the run! We'll handle the rest." Vector says with assurance. "Alright, if you say so." Sonic replies before dashing towards the HQ.

**-20 minutes earlier-**

"So what do these star posts do?" Kor asks. "Well, me and Tails created them so it would be easier to access the special zone. From there we can find a chaos emerald to use for a certain purpose before returning it." Rotor said while gesturing to the inactive portal. "So THAT'S where the emeralds go. I thought they were just scattered around the world waiting to be found." "Well, it used to be like that until an incident years ago had them sealed in that zone. In my opinion its better for everyone, especially so they don't fall into the wrong hands, plus they're guarded by a powerful being." Tails explaned. "Ah, I see...out of curiosity do you think it's possible they could access other zones?" Rotor shrugs. "Well, it wasn't made for that purpose but it's possible". As he and Kor begin to discuss this further, Tails suddenly notices the posts activating. "Um, Rotor? Is it supposed to open up by itself?" "It shouldn't. It was only designed to go to the special zone..." Rotor tells them, becoming wary.

Before any of them can question about it more, the 3 are suddenly pushed to the ground by a sonic blast eminating from the portal. When regain their senses, Rotor and Tails look in shock. They see another walrus looking exactly like Rotor, but sporting cybernetic enhancements on its head and arms. "A-Anti Rotor?! How did-" His counterpart cuts him off. "It's Boomer now, wuss. What's wrong? Scared of your 'shadow' outshining you?" Boomer taunts. Kor shakes his head before changing his hand into its laser form. "I don't care if you're Rotor's opposite, but you're going to-GAH!" Kor was kicked into a wall. He looks up and sees a yellow fox floating with its tails spinning. Unlike Tails' hair he has smoothed gray hair on the top of his head. He's also wearing a red jacket fitted with black spiked gauntlets and boots to match. "Let me guess, you're Anti-Tails?..." The fox glares at him in disgust. "Don't you dare call me that! My Prime version may lack respect but I only respond to Miles."

Before they can go any further, the counterparts of Sally and Antoine walk through the portal. After looking around the chipmunk turns to the coyote. "You can tell her 'highness', that the area is secure." She says sarcastically. Not a second after that, a red fox in black clothing and wearing a yellow ribbon on her steps through. "I heard that Alicia, and I suggest you watch your tone...Suppression Squad! Forward!" Kor sighs in frustration. "This week just keeps getting better..."

**A/N: And that's enough for now. Again I apoligize for the late delivery, had writer's block and was busy for awhile. Now I was thinking of giving Kor a counterpart which would have 2 ideas. The first one being that he's a pacifist like Knuckles' opposite, or one that's way more insane than Kor is and is comparable to the Borderlands psychos. So just tell me what you think.**


	9. Chapter 9

** A/N: Last we left our heroes, it seems their evil versions were invading Freedom HQ. Why are they here of all times and what do they hope to achieve? Let's watch.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my own OC.**

As the Suppression Squad begins their attack, Rotor, Tails, and Kor quickly jump in various directions to avoid getting hit by another sonic pulse from Boomer. "Just who the heck are these guys?! And why do they want HQ so bad?!" Kor yells while charging his laser hand. "They're from an alternative universe called Anti-Mobius! And to answer your second question your guess is as good as mine!" Rotor yells back before ducking from another blast. Kor finishes charging and opens fire on Boomer. As the 2 exchange fire around the lab Tails and Miles engage in an aerial battle, trying to out-fox each other **(no pun intended)**. The noise draws the attention of Sally, Amy, Antoine, and Bunnie, who were elsewhere in the base.

This doesn't go unnoticed by Alicia. "Patch cover me. I'm going to disable the comm. line so they can't send for more help." However, Patch plays it coolly. "Please ma Princess, these fools are hardly a threat." He would've kept this stance, had Amy not sprang out of no where with that giant hammer of hers. She smashs part of the wall close to Patch's head. "You've got a lot of nerve coming back here after all you've done!" The pink hedgehog tells him. "Mon dieu!" He panics and makes a run for it. "Come back here so I can smash you!" Amy says while chasing after the French coward. "This girl is a monster! AAAH!" Patch screams as the hammer behind him makes a hole in the floor.

As for Alicia, she makes her way over to the comm. line but Bunnie quickly pins her to the ground. She's unable to push her off until the cybernetic Mobian is blasted off by Boomer. Kor's hand needed time to recharge and is currently helping Tails deal with Miles. As she gets up, she begins engagement with her Prime counterpart. "So what's your motive for coming back here Alicia? Last I checked you guys were never fond of this place." Sally points out. "We aren't, but our 'King' and 'Queen' wanted some new digs." "King and Queen? You don't mean..." "As much as I hate it, I do." Alicia says before swinging a roundhouse kick at Sally. Sally blocks before delivering a kick of her own.

**-17 minutes later-**

The fighting has kept going with neither side giving an inch. Antoine and Patch are locked in a duel of swordsmanship, Kor managed to bring Miles down to his level after his hand recharged and is trying to bash the fox's head in but Miles manages to take off again. Amy and Sally dodge another blast from Boomer until the cyborg Moebian is attacked by Bunnie with Amy assisting. Sally sees an opening to the mic and makes a run to it only to be blocked by Fiona. "What's wrong Princess? Need your 'boyfriend' to come and save you?" "No, I was actually just part of the distraction." Sally smirks at her. Fiona's eyes widen in shock as she turns and notices Rotor at the mic. He desperately calls Nicole. "Nicole! We need Sonic back here ASAP! Things are getting out of hand!" "Oh and mind telling Hornet to standby?! I'm not fond of destroying the place a second time but it might come to that!" Kor yells while firing another volley at Miles. "I'll get on that right now!" Nicole says and sends the messages.

Three minutes pass before Sonic arrives. However as he does, a green hedgehog wearing a black biker jacket with flames on the sleeves along with a red pair of shades walks through the portal. He's also wearing what appears to be a silver crown on his forehead. This hedgehog, is known as Scourge. "Attention scrubs of this zone: the king has arrived! Respect." Sonic groans at seeing his counterpart and folds his arms. "I'm guessing this home invasion was your idea Scourge?" "That's 'King' Scourge, Sonic." "Oh, so you're a royal pain then?" Sonic smirks before spin dashing to him.

Scourge counters with his own spin. They continue to talk as they fight. "Since you're the 'Hero of Mobius', that means I can be just as powerful, and way better. When I went to my world, I conquered it in only 3 days! Not only that, I decided to get the old gang back together to be much better than you so-called Freedom Fighters. We aren't just your 'evil twins' anymore. I am Scourge, King of a bold new Moebius, and now your world will fall to my Suppression Squad!" Scourge smirks. "Heh, what's in a name? A 'dork' by any other name is just as lame. You're messing with Sonic the Hedgehog, hero of Mobius, and the Freedom Fighters. Pack it up and go home before you regret it." Sonic says, smirking back at him. "I'm so glad I'm sitting this one out...my back isn't healed yet and I'd hate to be in the middle of that." Rotor says with Nicole agreeing with him. The 2 groups charge at each other once more.

Both groups are evenly matched, lasers and sonic pulses flying every which way, various mobians engaged in different forms of combat from Sonic and Scourge's high speed brawl to Sally and Fiona fighting hand to hand. Sonic spins at Scourge once more, nearly knocking him back through the star post. Unfortunately, Fiona manages to grab him. "I got you hon. What should we do?" Scourge looks at her in anger. "What should we do? I almost got sent back! The rest of you better get it together! You _do not_ want to be sent back with me!" After that short pause, the Squad resumes their attack, forcing the heroes to get pushed back again.

However, Sonic begins to notice the damage being wrought to the base. Various pieces of equipment are damaged or destroyed and many holes are in the floor and wall due to the shootout. "Everyone! Fall back!" "I call cover fire!" Kor says and begins to pepper shots at the Suppression Squad while everyone else runs out of the lab. Once everyone else is out Kor shuts the door. Bunnie throws one of the sofas at it to keep it shut, at least until they blow the door down.

"Guys we need a solid plan. If we keep fighting like this there won't be an HQ left to save." Sonic says. "Right. Given all of our options right now, I think it's best if we retreat for the time being." Sonic frowns at Sally upon hearing that. "That wasn't the kind of plan I was hoping for...We can't just abandon this place Sal." "I know but they caught us off guard and we aren't in the position to continue this fight." Sally says. Sonic looks around and notices most of the Freedom Fighters are sporting bruises or other indications of battle damage. Bunnie's arm has several dents in it thanks to Boomer, Kor's hand is smoking alittle from overuse, Antoine has some cuts from his fight with Patch, etc. "Alright. I don't like it, but I agree with ya."

As they make their way to the exit, their counterparts finally break down the door. "Aw what's wrong Sonic? Did we play alittle too rough?" Scourge taunts him. "We'll settle this later Scourge. Don't think you won yet." Sonic retorts before exiting himself. "You know, we could blow it up if we're unable to liberate it from them." Kor suggests. Sonic gives him a look. "We aren't going to destroy it Kor." "I know, just sayin' it might come to that..."

As they begin to trek back to New Mobotropolis, they meet up with the Chaotix. "What happened to you guys?" Knuckles asks with concern. "We had to deal with an invasion from Anti-Mobius. For now they've taken control of the HQ." Sally says grimly. "Great, now we got _two_ things to worry about...is everyone alright?" Julie-Su asks after taking note of everyone's condition. "Don' worry Su, we'll live. Did y'all manage to do yer mission?" Bunnie asks. "Yeah. It was pretty tough but we managed to knock down one of Eggman's communication towers. Unfortunately after Sonic left we were nearly overrun since the Legion managed to reorganize, but at least Eggman can't talk with half the planet now." Vector says with a smile. Sonic chuckles abit. "Sorry I had to leave you guys to deal with that." "Don't worry about it Sonic. We handled them well." Knuckles assures him.

As the group reaches the outskirts of their city, Kor asks a good question. "So what are we going to do about the 'Faker Squad'?" Some chuckle at this. "For now, they'll have to be our first priority. With Eggman's forces down he shouldn't make an attack any time soon. Given how strong they are, we should plan to stop them now before they become a bigger problem." Sally explains. "Sounds great, but I'm still wondering how they managed to get here through the star post. They're supposed to be only linked to the Special Zone." Rotor says, scratching his head thinking about possibilities. "We'll figure that out soon enough. First, we need to explain the situation to the Council." Sally said.

**A/N: Well the Suppression Squad are a nice little group aren't they? Given the circumstances it's a good idea that they are the immediate threat, but main question is: will the Council agree? **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Time for chapter 10. By the way, you know how sometimes the beuracracy can be a real pain? You'll see why in a minute. Also I would like to thank those who have viewed this story. Up to almost 300 views over the 9 chapters.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my OC.**

Once the two groups made it back to the city, they went about their business to get some well-deserved rest. In the mean time, Sonic, Sally, Kor, and Knuckles were appealing to the Council of Acorn about the situation concerning the Suppression Squad. The Council of Acorn was made after Tails father Amadeus led a massive crowd to the castle to voice their opinion of the Acorn family's leadership. For many years it was known that the Acorn family weren't exactly the best of leaders, but Amadeus knew that Elias never wanted to be king in the first place. Main reason was that he stepped in due to his father's deteriorating health. After some debate between Amadeus, Elias, and Sally, the council was formed as a way to give more power to the people, although this had some downsides. Originally, the Freedom Fighters would have been free to carry out their own strategies, but under the law of the new Council they had to answer to them first. Even Rotor was a member of the council along with Sonic's Uncle, Chuck. However, things weren't working in their favor.

"While we understand your concerns about Freedom HQ Princess Sally, Eggman is still a present threat to everyone." Said Penelope, one of the council members. "Plus, your assaults on his base of operations have prevented him from trying to attack us for a good while." Agreed Hamlim, another member. "Eggman is only not much of a threat due to the fact most of his forces had been destroyed after a...certain incident...but the Suppression Squad pose a bigger threat right now." Sonic countered. "Plus, they had forced to retreat lest we ended up destroying the place. And I gotta say, they sure pack a mean punch. Still need ice for my head..." Kor said in agreement. "Also, Eggman is scrapping he bottom of the barrel with what forces he has left. I've seen it myself. He doesn't have the capability to launch a counter attack right now." Knuckles chimed in.

"That may be true but do you remember the times Eggman has surprised us all? He could be developing a new weapon to take us all out at this very moment. You can stop him now while he's at his weakest." Hamlin said. "While that may be true Hamlin, we'd still have another issue to deal with even if we stopped Eggman for good. And who knows how far the Surpression Squad may spread their influence by the time we do stop him." Rotor said. "Well, we'll just cross that bridge when we come to it. That as it may be, you've all handled them easily before." Rosemary, Tails' mother, pointed out. Elias was growing alittle tired of this debate and wanted to have it settled before things got out of control. "Why don't we put a vote out. All in favor of leaving Freedom HQ alone for now?" In a 4 to 2 vote, the decision was made. Rotor and Uncle Chuck were the only 2 who opposed this. The heroes gave exasperated sighs before leaving. "Fucking government..." Kor muttered to himself.

Once outside, they settle in the shade to talk amongst themselves. "We really should take back the HQ, regardless of what they say..." Sonic says, arms crossed and tapping his foot. "We could, but I think they may have a point. We might be able to stop Eggman in a few days if we keep the pressure on as they suggest." Knuckles points out. However, Sonic knows he doesn't really mean it. "I know that, but I'm gonna do what I know is right." "I had the same thing in mind when I became Enerjak, AND HOW YOU THINK THAT WENT?! I LOST MY FATHER BECAUSE OF MY OWN SELFISH DECISIONS!" Knuckles yells in rage, tears beginning to stream from his eyes. "IF I HADN'T GONE ALONE HE WOULD..." He sighs in sadness. "Go do whatever you want Sonic...I need to be alone for awhile..." After that, he walks away.

The others look on in sadness. "That whole Enerjak thing's really eaten 'im...I may not feel what Knuckles is going through but I understand his situation." Kor says to the other two. "Agreed...Sonic I don't like the council's decision as much as you do, but we need a solid plan before we can do anything about the HQ." Sally says to him. "True...however I could go scout the place to make sure they aren't up to anything. Might even find out what they plan on doing next." Sally thinks on this for a moment. "...Alright, but don't get yourself hurt Blue." Sonic chuckles at this. "You know me Sal, I can handle just about anything." The Blue Blur says before speeding out of the city. Kor gives Sally a smirk. "You know he's gonna be in a lot of trouble when he comes back right?" "Yep, but by then we'll have something figured out." After that the two go off to find Tails, Rotor, and Uncle Chuck.

**-Nearly 2 hours later-**

Sonic calmly walks back into New Mobotropolis, slightly sore from the battle he had but otherwise ok. Apparently, when he arrived at Freedom HQ he found Scourge fighting Metal Sonic. He attempted to intervene and breifly the 2 ganged up on him until Metal's backup, Metal Scourge, arrived. The 2 hedgehogs had a hard time beating them until Sonic thought back to when he was matched blow for blow by the Eggman's battle suit. He then suggested bringing in someone the robots weren't designed for, and after some hesitation, Scourge ordered the Suppression Squad to attack. The 2 robots were then cut to pieces by the Moebians. Sonic then decided to head back after that scuffle. Unsurprisingly, he knew would be in trouble for his actions, which was justified as 2 soldiers were waiting for him by the main entrance.

"The king requests your presence Sonic. He says you're in big trouble." One of them says. Sonic just chuckles. "I knew he'd give me a lecture when I got back." After a short walk to the castle, Elias lectured him about ignoring the council's decision. Sally was there after hearing his return. "You do realize what could have happened if you had been captured right? You defied a direct order, and as such you must serve a punishment for it." "I know that your highness, but no one is going to stop me from doing anything if I have the right mind to do so." Sonic stated. Elias shakes his head. "I'm amazed you 2 have kept your relationship going for this long..." Elias says to his sister. "You'd be surprised...why don't you go about your usual business Elias. I'll handle Sonic's punishment." Sally said. "Very well. I'm starting to develop a headache already."

After the king leaves, Sally takes Sonic to the Science Center. "So exactly is my "punishment?" "Oh you'll see." Sally says with a smirk before opening one of the labs. Inside, Tails, Rotor, Kor, and Uncle Chuck were working on a new pair of star posts. Amy was nearby taking practice swings with her hammer. "I'm going to take a wild shot in the dark on this: we're gonna invade Moebius?" "Yep. Scourge decided it would be a good idea to invade us, might as well take a leave out of his book and do the same." Sally explains to him.

Sonic gives his traditional smirk. "You know we all risk being tried for treason on this right?" "It'll be worth it though, cause sometimes the government ain't the best at makin' plans." Kor says while soldering another piece of metal. "I still don't understand why the council won't realize we'd still have another big issue at hand." Rotor sighs. Even though he and Chuck were council members, the resulting decision had them at odds with the rest of the group. "Ah, they just want Eggman finally behind bars is all. We'll get him soon enough, but they need to realize things take time." Chuck explained. "Ok, these posts are nearly finished." Chuck says to Sonic and Sally.

"So what's the plan Sal?" Sonic asks. "You and Amy will head into Moebius and find a way to reverse Scourge's invasion, and try to cause him as many problems as possible." "I thought this was a _solo_ mission." Sonic pouted, folding his arms. "You'll need back-up on a hostile world we know little about. Besides, Amy's been dying for more time with you." Sally teased. "She's got a point Sonic. Never go into uncharted enemy territory alone unless you have a map." Kor chimed in. "You guys are cruel." The others chuckled at that. Amy then latched onto Sonic's waste. "Oh Sonic won't this be great?! It'll almost be like a first date!" Amy said while clinging to him. Sonic just groaned in annoyance.

After a couple more minutes the 4 tech wizards finish the star posts and activate them. "Ok guys it's ready. However, we don't know which part of Moebius it'll drop you guys into so...watch your step!" Tails said with a smile. "If anything we should be able to handle whatever we get into. Ready Amy?" Sonic asks the pink hedgehog. She nods and the 2 jump through the portal. "What do we do now Sally?" Chuck asks. "Now, we play the waiting game, and hope they're ok..." Sally says before sitting on a desk. "Welp, if we're gonna be waiting for awhile, might as well touch up on some of the defenses." Kor says to them before letting himself out the lab.

**-Minutes Later-**

Kor stood outside the east section of the wall. He pressed a button on his PDA and a large section had opened up, revealing 3 large sentries mounted into the wall. The sentries stared at their creator for a moment before doing a casual scan of the area. Each sentry fired a different weapon: one had a rotary and flak cannon, one had rockets, and the last one fired missiles. After the whole issue with Enerjak, and some begging to the council, he finally had permission and time to install 8 batteries concealed into the wall. Main reason for this was so the city would appear to only have a shield for defense, to hide the battery locations so they don't destroyed for sticking out, and as to not scare anyone. Kor asked Nicole if she wanted to help handle them but the Holo-lynx was a bit nervous to handle such weaponry. It didn't matter if she did help or not to Kor, but he thought it might be a fun experience for her.

Currently, the former engineer was checking the sensors of the sentries when Nicole had partially materialized next to him. "Oh hey Nicole. What's up?" "Nothing much, just wanted to see what you were up to." The A.I. said with a smile. "Well, right now I'm adjusting the sensors so they could recognize the Moebians as a threat. Only had them programmed to attack Eggman." "I see...um...when you asked to put them in, did you have to make them this big though?" Nicole said as she stared at them. Given their size, it wouldn't take much to intimidate any foe. "Well, I could've made them smaller but then I thought it Eggman sends a robot horde or something, size might come in handy." Kor explained as he finished adjusting on of the sentries. "I see." He then notes Nicole standing rather uncomfortably. "Something wrong?"

"No no. Well...about your offer earlier, I don't know if I can handle controlling a weapon of this caliber. I've never been in any military hard drive where I had to use it." "What about the times Sally took you on various missions?" Kor asked. "Those times I just needed to hack the system to open a door or change protocols. I even disabled weapons before." Nicole stated. "So basically you're saying you don't know how to shoot?" "For lack of better words, I guess..." Kor chuckled a bit.

"Well Nicky, I can help you do that. Now that doesn't mean we'll start on something big, just somethin' small. Trust me when we're done you'll be able to better defend yourself and everyone else. Plus, like you told Dimitri, you said you 'wouldn't use the nanites as a weapon' right?" She nods. "Well that's why I constructed these beauties myself. That way, you provide the shields and I provide the countermeasures. This is technically our city since we built it." Nicole smiled at that. "Very true. Well, if you're going to teach me, what will we use?" "My old sentries I built back in my world. They're small, simple to use. Heck you could just hack them by touching them." He joked.

Nicole couldn't help but giggle given that would be true. "By the way, mind me askin' out of curiousity?" Kor began. "Hmm?" "Since you're an advanced A.I. capable of expressing emotions, did you ever wonder what it would be like to have a real body?" He said as he opened up the second sentry. Nicole thought about the time she had temporarily switched places with Sally to experience what that feeling was like. "Yes I have. Some time ago, long before your enemy became involved, I had temporarily switched places with Sally to experience what it was like to _actually_ live. It was a thrilling experience that I wished to go through once more. I am incredibly greatful Sally gave me that opportunity, but the closest thing I have to experiencing a real body is projecting this hologram..." Nicole looked over herself in sadness.

Kor stopped his work and put a hand on her shoulder. "Look Nicole, you may be an A.I., but you're about as Mobian as the rest of us. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise because you know you're more than that. A computer can only go so far, but you? You're smarter than any two-bit computer. You can think for yourself, you can help others in more ways than one, and you...well to sum it up your pretty much have a soul. People would have to be stupid not to see past that." Nicole smiled warmly at Kor. Aside from the other Freedom Fighters, few people saw her more than just some advanced computer, and being that Kor worked with computers most of the time in his life he knew what he was talking about. "For someone with a past of being a crazed mercenary, you know what to say at the best of times Kor." "Well, myself, Sniper, and Spah were the most sane members of the team." Kor chuckled.

He was then caught off guard as the holo-lynx hugged him. "Thanks for cheering me up...I've felt that way for quite awhile and despite being told by my friends it didn't help much." "Well, maybe you just needed a change of voice." He said as he returned the hug. During that time Kor thought back to his merc days and remembered something, but he wasn't sure if it was possible. "Hey Nicole? I think I know of a way to make your dream a reality." She pulled alittle to look at his face. "What do you mean?" "In my days as a merc we had a system called respawn, and-" Kor was cut off as the flak-welding sentry had beeped and pointed toward the forest. It usually does this when alerted to an enemy presence. "Sorry to intrude but I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Both Mobians looked to the source of the voice, and to their surprise, was Miles of the Surppression Squad.

**A/N: That's enough of part 10. At first I was thinking of it being shorter but decided to add more to it. So does Miles want and where is the rest of his group? And secondly, how come the sentry didn't chew him up on sight? You'll have to find out next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Time for chapter 11. Last time we left, the heroes trying to persuade the council to allow them to take back Freedom HQ, but they denied their request. So, doing what they know is right, they set about invading Moebius to turn the tide, but now Nicole and Kor are approached by Miles outside the city. What will transpire? Let's see.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my OC.**

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Kor shouts at Miles, that kick he gave him fresh in his mind. "I'm here under the pretense of bombing your city, but I am not here to do that. However, I wish to speak with the rest of the Freedom Fighters." Miles says in a stoic voice. He's not even flinching at the fact a large sentry had its gun trained on him. "And what do you want to discuss with them? You know they aren't keen on speaking with you guys after you made us give up our HQ..."

"That, I will tell you once the others are here." Miles tells Kor. The 2 Mobians stare at the Moebian for a moment. "Fine...Nicole can you go get the others. I'll keep an eye on him." The A.I. nods before disappearing. "You know Miles, I'm almost surprised you aren't flinching right now." "If you think I should be scared of a weapon that size I've seen worse." "Such as?" "Well, what if I told you there was an anti-version of you?" Kor opened his mouth to retort but paused. If there was an anti-version of everyone else, it was entirely possible he had an opposite too. "...I'm listening."

**-New Mobotropolis Science Center-**

Nicole materialized back into the science lab. Sally, Tails, and Rotor were the only ones still there. Uncle Chuck had left awhile ago to resume his council duties. "Guys, we got a problem. Miles of the Suppression Squad is outside the city." This causes shock from everyone else. "What?! I never thought they'd attack so soon...what's he doing?" Sally asks. "Right now Kor watching over him. He says he wishes to speak with us on something." "I hope it's about his unconditional surrender..." Tails mutters.

"I doubt they'd give up so easily Tails." Says Rotor. "Right. Nicole, tell Bunnie and Antoine to meet me and Tails outside the city. We'll be there in a few." "What about me?" Rotor asks, feeling a bit let down. "I know you want to be a part of this Rotor, but Sonic and Amy..." Nicole begins to say, "Right right, they'll need a way back. Alright you guys on on without me, I'll get these up and running again." Rotor says. The other 3 nod before setting about.

**-Minutes Later-**

Miles just finished explaining something to Kor when the others arrive. Kor decides to keep the information to himself unless they do run into a certain 'someone.' "Ok Miles, normally we'd just arrest you on site, but we're willing to hear you out." Sally stated. "Right. Now, you may not like this idea, but the Suppression Squad wishes to forge an alliance with the Freedom Fighters." "An alliance? Right, so you guys can just stab us in the back?" Tails said with a tinge of venom in his voice.

"Tempting thought, but no. You see, the only reason me and the rest of the Squad came here was because our 'king' forced us to. He made us become more than just 'evil twins' like he had, and while that seemed good in a sense his ruthlessness has put our planet in disrepair, especially since he forced us to be his back-up...We want nothing more than to see him thoroughly defeated, and we believe Sonic is our best chance at that."

"Hmm, mind if we debate on this for a moment?" Sally asks. "You may." The others turn their back for a moment while Miles just looks at the scenery. The sentry gun still pointed at him. "Can we even trust him? How do we know this isn't a ruse for a trap?" Tails says. "Valid point Tails, but if they do hate Scourge as much as he says, this would be our best chance to get rid of him. Back when Gray had killed our employers, I had to team up with the men I killed several times a week." Kor said. The others look at him with weird expressions. "What? Just saying rivalries don't last forever." "I still don't like it..." Tails says. "Like it or not Tails, this may be our one chance." Sally says before turning back to Miles.

"Alright Miles, we'll agree to your alliance." Miles gives a devious smile. "I was hoping you would. Now here's the plan..."

**-Half an hour later-**

"What the hell is taking Miles so long? How hard is it to blow up a simple city?!" Scourge asks out loud. Himself and the rest of the Suppression Squad had been waiting for him to return for nearly 2 hours. "Being as smart as he is, he should be back by now..." Fiona says disgruntingly. "Ever heard of the saying _good things come to those who wait_?" Alica chimes in. "Patience was never my strong suit Alicia," Scourge begins, "and if Miles isn't back soon I'm going to go over there and strangle him..."

Fiona then looks out the window, noticing something in the distance. "I think you'll get your wish hon. He's coming back, but he ain't alone." She finishes with a glare. Outside, Miles is being pursued by the Freedom Fighters. He quickly rushes through the entrance as the mobians come barreling after him. "What the hell took you so long?! I expected you to be back much sooner!" Scourge asks. "And why did _they _follow you here?!" Fiona adds.

However, Miles ignores them both and runs right to Alicia. "The alliance with the Freedom Fighters was a success." Alica gives an evil grin. "An alliance? What alliance?!" Scourge yells at them. "Oh nothing Scourge. We're just going to show you just what we think of our _king_." Alicia told him.

**-Meanwhile on Moebius-**

Sonic and Anti-Bunny, now called Buns Rabbot, were heading toward the lab in Anti-Castle Acorn. Buns Rabbot looked much like her counterpart, but unlike Bunnie she doesn't have any cybernetic attachments. She was also in a blue Omega Care Suit to cure her NIDS (**A/N: Basically it's their version of AIDS or HIV)**. Earlier in the castle they met Amy's anti version, a crazed psychopath pink hedgehog named Rosy the Rascal. Apparently she has an obbession with wanting to smash everything with her hammer, especially anything looking like Sonic, but unlike Amy's hammer, Rosy's is green and has spikes attached to the ends. Amy said she would distract her, though Buns worried for her well-being. Sonic assured her she could handle herself.

Also while running about the castle they came across several old-modelled sentry guns, ones that look much like the ones Kor used in his old days except they were painted blue instead of red. Sonic easily despatched any they came across and was wondering if Kor's anti-self was really here. "Man if Kor used to be crazy, I wonder how his anti-version is..." Sonic says. "You mean Theron? That bloody fox's been givin' us a hard time all over. He's the only person aside from Rosy and Kintobor who managed to avoid being swept in Scourge's rein, mainly because he killed anyone who tried and they didn't want to tangle with him! I'm still debatin' which one is crazier." Buns explained.

Soon they made it into the lab. Fortunately the globe posts used to enter Mobius were still running. "Guess the Squad wanted to keep a supply line running. You go on, I'll wait for Amy." Buns tells him. "Thanks for everything Buns. I hope things are going smooth back home." Sonic says before jumping through the portal.

Not soon after he did, Amy runs into the lab. "She broke my hammer! She'll be here any second!" Amy yells. Buns moves to block the door, but Rosy pushes her out of the way with her hammer. She then sees the active globe posts. "Ooooo, smashy smash!" "No! She's going to break the posts!" Amy yells again. However, before any damage could be brought to the machines Buns intercepts her. She knocks the crazed hedgehog back though Rosy quickly retaliates. "Amy get Sonic back here! I can't hold her forever!" Buns says Rosy smashes one of the arms of her suit. Amy didn't need to be told twice as she too jumps through. Unknown to the 2 combatants, someone else sneaked into the lab amidst their battle.

**-As Sonic returned to Mobius-**

When Sonic jumped through the posts, he returned to the Freedom HQ lab. However, he was met with a surprising sight. The Suppression Squad and Freedom Fighters were attacking Scourge and Fiona, but despite their numbers they were slowly losing the battle. "Fucking traitors! I took down a whole planet! A planet! And you morons think you can take me?! Sonic can't take me, and you still want to take me out?! You could have served the baddest king ever! Now you're just gonna get served!" Scourge yells as he punches and kicks various mobians on both sides.

Sonic stands there confused for a moment before Nicole gets his attention on the computer screen. "Sonic, the Suppression Squad had mutinied on Scourge but they aren't enough to stand against him. You need to back them up." She says. "Heh, guess Scourge couldn't keep the leash on after all." Sonic says before rushing to join the brawl. However Fiona gets in his way.

"I'm surprised you didn't mutiny against Scourge Fiona. Someone like him definitely deserves it." He says to her. "Please, I owe you guys nothing. After everyone I _trusted_ left me to rot on my own, I learned one hard truth: You can never count on anyone..." Fiona says with a glare. "Oh really? You sure seem to be so trusting of Scourge. In fact he's probably the _only_ person you've put your life on the line for." Sonic points out. This causes Fiona's glare to harden. "It's not like that!" "You keep telling yourself that." He shrugs.

Before the 2 could argue further Amy suddenly appears through the star posts. "Sonic! Buns needs help! She's got Rosy distracted but she won't hold her forever!" Sonic nods then turns to Fiona. "Right. Sorry to cut our chat short Fiona but I need to end this." He says before knocking her out of the way with a spin dash. He then barrels his war toward Scourge. However, the moment he reaches his double, Boomer and Kor fire at them both. The attacks from the sonic pulses and lasers knock the two out.

"Ah hell...my bad!" Kor said, realizing he accidentally hit Sonic as well while Boomer just grins. Miles then lifts the two and throws them back through the star posts, Amy following them in pursuit. "Boomer! Shut this thing down!" Miles tells him. "Woah, what the hell?! Friendly fire much?!" Kor yells as Boomer moves to shut down the posts. Before anyone can stop him he reaches the controls and begins the shut down sequence. But, before they fully shut down, something, or rather _someone_ jumps through just as they close.

The Supression Squad look in shock while the Freedom Fighters are surprised. The Moebian that made it through was a blue fox that bears a striking resemblance to Kor, wearing a red stained glove, brown boots, a yellow hard hat, and goggles to match. However, much like with Bun's case, he beared no cybernetics. He was also sporting a large tri-barreled shotgun with a bladed wrench strapped to his side. All the while, he wore this crazed menacing grin that put everyone off. This Moebian, was Anti-Kor, though he was called Theron, which was Kor's middle name.

"I was afraid this would happen..." Miles says with some notible fear in his voice. "_This fox is probably as crazy as Rosy, or more so. There's no telling what he can do."_ Kor thought as he recalled that discussion he and Miles had. The blue fox then spoke. "Attention everyone present! Today your death will be met at the hands of Theron! Now now don't worry, it'll be quick, _maybe_." He said and gave a heartly laugh. "This guy reminds me of when I had my 'off' days..." Kor mutters to himself before getting his opposite's attention. "Put the gun down junior and maybe I won't gut yer ass."

"Well if it ain't my opposite. Been waitin to meet ya since these morons here managed to invade this world. Now I can add ya to my collection of severed heads along with the rest of them!" Kor shakes his head. "Nope. It's you and me hoss. Leave the others out of it." "Alrighty then, will be just as fun killin ya anyways!" Theron says as he readies the gun. Kor changes his hand into its laser form. "You wish buddy, cause I'm gonna tear you down..."

**A/N: And cliffhanger moment! So turns out Kor does have an opposite, abeit one more screws loose than one could count. So how will this fight between Red vs. Blu turn out? You'll have to wait til next chapter.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: It's time for chapter 12, and with it, the fight between a former RED and BLU engineer. How will this battle between 2 former mercs turn out? Time to find out!**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my OC and his opposite.**

As the 2 foxes stared each other down, Kor took a good look at the gun Theron was holding. "Isn't that a-" "AA-12 automatic shotgun? Yes it is, 'cept I made some modifications." He said. Then, the barrels of the gun began to spin in a fashion similar to a minigun. "Now, how do you stop some big mean mother hubbard from tearin' you a structural superfluous new behind?" Theron began. Kor knew where this was going. "Oh shit..." "Use a gun!" And with that, the blue fox opened fire.

Kor instinctively ducked and hid behind a nearby table. Theron then started shooting at everyone and everything, damaging the lab even more in the process. Everyone began to panic and ducked to the nearest cover that as available. Even Nicole was watching from the computer screen in shock. During his onslaught, one of the buckshots damaged the controls for the star posts, causing them to shut down. "And if that don't work, use more gun!" Theron said as he tossed out a blue toolbox. The box opened up as a standard Builders League United sentry began to build itself. Kor peeked out to see it building but with Theron constantly blasting everywhere he couldn't try to damage it at all. The sentry formed up to level 3, twin miniguns and rockets, and shot at anyone who tried to peak out of what they were hiding behind. Some of the Mobians got damaged by the debris caused from the rocket salvos.

"_Shit. How the hell can I stop this maniac?!...Wait, he's got a drum magazine, so when he runs out..._" Kor then began to charge up his hand for a large, single blast. The main drawback of doing this was that shooting a concentrated blast drains the hand's core much faster than regular shooting, so Kor knew he only had one chance at this. Suddenly, everyone hears a clicking sound along with Theron muttering to himself. "_Now!_" Kor looks up from his position and fires at the sentry. It hits it dead on and shuts it off, but Kor doesn't know for how long. Thinking quick he runs to Theron and tackles him before he could put in a new magazine for his gun.

"Get off me you gutless coward!" Theron shouts as he punches Kor in the face. He reels a little from the hit but retaliates with his own. "Says the coward who put down adamn sentry!" The 2 briefly separate before exchanging blows again, delivering various punches and kicks. "I can why you're my opposite. You ain't a _real_ Texan, cause a _real_ Texan ought to use more gun! Speakin' of which..." Theron then kicks Kor in his mid-section. He lands on his back in front of the sentry, which then comes back online, beeping at the detection of an enemy. "Augh!" Kor screams and rolls to the side before the spot he was in a second ago is peppered with bullets and rockets.

However, Kor knows sentries have weaknesses. Despite how menacing they are, they're quite fragile, can only target whoever is closest to them, and its possible to out-turn them. He remembers how often he grew annoyed about demomen and soldiers constantly blowing up his buildings. He runs around the sentry as it tries to get a bead on him before jumping onto its back. It spins as it continues to try to target him. "Everyone get out while I got this thing distracted!" "But, what about you?!" Sally yells. "JUST GO!"

The Moebians didn't need to be told twice and leave the room, the Freedom Fighters following shortly. Theron laughs at this. "Seems yer friends there didn't want to help ya son. Doesn't since when I'm done with you, they'll be next." He says before taking aim at Kor. "Like hell you will!" He says and punches the sentry's main control unit with his robotic hand. The sentry whines in protest and begins to malfunction, randomly sputtering bullets and rockets. Kor then forcefully turns it to Theron, who gets hit by a rocket salvo. "Augh!" He screams and flies into the wall. Kor continues to punch the main unit until the sentry ceases to work. He then kicks it over. "'Gutless coward'? Fucking hypocrite..."

Kor looks around for his double, but doesn't see him anywhere. "Where the hell did he..." "Kor behind you!" Nicole shouts. After her warning, Kor ducks, and feels his left ear sting horribly. He then runs behind another counter as more buckshots follow him. "That was some nice trick you pulled there, but yer lucky I just nicked yer ear." Theron says with a chuckle. Kor then feels his left ear and feels a noticeable portion had been blown off. He winces from touching it then glares. "I'm gettin' sick of this fuckin' lunatic..." He mutters to himself.

Theron walks over to where Kor was hiding, finger on the trigger. "Just come on out with yer hands up, and I _might_ make it quick." "So this is just a game to you huh? What the hell made you so damn crazy?!" "Bein' on Moebius did. Also I was truly insane when workin' for BLU. One of the best engineers, then Gray killed mah boss. He fled to Moebius, but I tracked him down and killed him. Then those dumbass Suppression idiots thought they could try to boss me around, and I showed them what for, same with anyone else who messed with me. But, this game's gettin' old...so why don't you just give up." Theron said with a crazy grin. Kor glares and looks at his hand, noticing it's done charging. "How about this!"

He lifts his hand up and fires. Theron aims to fire but the lasers hit the gun itself. This causes the gun to malfunction and shutter. "What in the-" Was all Theron could say before it explodes. The blast causes him to stagger backwards, dazed. "Ah hell..." He mutters. Kor then coming from behind the counter and walks over to him, his hand reverting back to normal. "So, you think this is all a game right. Well guess what? I'm through playin' games with you boy..." He says with a fierce glare and grabs the blue fox by his chest fur. "H-hey pardner, can we talk this out?" Theron asks with a nervous smile. "Nope." Kor says with an evil grin.

For the next minute screams can be heard from Theron as Kor mercilessly pummels him into the floor. The Moebian is then thrown into the wall and slumps against it. Bruised all over and barely conscious, he looks up at Kor, who now has his wrench out. "You just got dominated hardhat. Given that you tried to kill my friends, and how crazy you are, you done incurred my wrath, son." He says before raising it. Nicole became shocked at what Kor was about to do. Although Kor mentioned parts of his past she's never seen him like this. She grew increasingly unnerved as she watched but seeing Kor about to kill someone made her snap. "Kor don't! You'll kill him!" "That's the idea Nicole." "Look Kor, I know you've been a mercenary trained to kill others but you said you left that part of your life behind you! Plus look at him! He's barely conscious!"

Kor looks down at the sorry state Theron is in. He sighs in agreement. "You're right...sorry you had to see all that. Nearly lost it there..." He says to her before looking at his counterpart. "Now look here son. I may have not killed you now, but I'm givin' you one warning: If I ever see you around here again I won't hesitate to put you 6 feet under..." He said before Theron passed out. The others poked through the door after they heard Nicole scream. They see Theron unconscious and Kor fidgeting with the hole in the side of his ear. Both have bruises to an extent. "Kor are you ok?!" Sally says as they re-enter the room. "Yeah...aside from this hole in my ear..." Miles looks down at the blue fox. "For someone as crazy he definitely wasn't as smart. The only reason he gave us trouble was because of those damn guns of his." He says, gesturing to the broken sentry in the room. "Probably should have lured him here so you could deal with him Kor."

"Don't make it sound like I enjoyed it. Who wants to deal with this maniac?!" Kor says, glaring at Miles. "Valid point." "Ok, now that this problem was taken care of, WHY DID YOU TOSS SONIC BACK INTO MOEBIUS?!" Sally shouts at Miles. "Sonic is our best bet at beating Scourge, and we sure don't want to be around him when he wakes up." "You couldn't just toss Scourge back in then?! It probably would have solved everything!" "Scourge was too much for us to defeat ourselves, and plus he would've found a way back here somehow!" As Sally and Alicia continue to argue about the results of the plan, Kor just groans. "We really should get over there and find out what those 2 are doing. Mind helping me get the posts working again Tails?" "Sure." He says. The 2 then try to reactivate the star posts using whatever they could from the damaged control panel.

After a couple minutes of fixing the system, and some protests from Alicia, the 2 finally reactivate the posts. "Ok, posts are up and running guys." Kor said. "Alright. We don't know what those 2 are doing, but hopefully Sonic took care of it." Sally says before everyone goes through the portal. The group enters through a pair of globe posts located in the throne room of Anti-Castle Acorn. However, when they get there, they get an unexpected and shocking surprise. In the throne room, they see Shadow, Metal Sonic, Amy, Silver, Rob O' the Hedge, and Rosy all knocked unconscious. What is worse, is that they see Scourge in his Super Form holding an unconscious Sonic. "I told you, you are nothing compared to me!" Scourge tell Sonic. He then turns his attention to the Suppression Squad and Freedom Fighters. "Oh good! Fresh meat to soften my knuckles on!"

**A/N: And that's all for now. Was thinking of continuing on but I figured I'd leave this for next chapter. So Scourge managed to obtain his super form eh? I'd hate to be them mobians right now.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Last chapter, Kor managed to defeat his counterpart, and nearly killed him hadn't Nicole stopped him. Now with Theron out of the way, the Freedom Fighters and Suppression Squad cross into Moebius to find out what happened between Sonic and Scourge, and they see the outcome was pretty disasterous. This won't end well.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my OC.**

Both groups stare in horror as _Super_ Scourge looks at them. "Oh good. Fresh meat to soften my knuckles on!" He says, dropping an unconscious Sonic before descending on them. "So you thought you all could just gang up on me? Thinking you wouldn't suffer what happens when you mess with me?! Well then, get ready to bow to your king!" Scourge proclaims before dashing toward the group.

Before anyone can react, he proceeds to punch and kick everyone in his wake, sending them flying throughout the room. While everyone else is dazed and bruised, the only one who isn't is Miles. Scourge floats to him with an venomous glare. "I know you're the one who ochastrated this whole charade. I had a feeling from the start you'd try to turn on me. After all I've done for you...", he grabs Miles by his shirt, "and this is how you repay me?!" "I-it's not what you think! T-They put me up to it, I swear! Just please don't kill me!" Miles begged. "Talk is cheap coming from you. I'm going to make sure this 'mistake' never happened." Scourge says with an evil grin, powering up his fist to possibly knock Miles' head clean off.

However, before he can take his revenge, he finds himself surrounded in a blue aura and realizes he can't move. "What the? Why can't I move?!" "You may be faster, stronger, and invulnerable, but I have psychokinesis!" Silver shouts. He managed to come to just in time to put the brakes on Scourge. "Huh, not bad. You actually managed to bring me to a full stop." Silver smiles. "Heh, thanks I guess." But then to his shock, Scourge manages to break out of his hold. "But 'invulnerable' means _nothing_ can stop me!" He says before diving toward Silver.

Kor sits himself against a pillar, holding his head from where he was struck. "Ugh...how did this guy even manage to get his super form?..." Boomer, who was closest to him also manages to shake off the damage he received. "He must've had some Aranchy Beryl stashed in the room somewhere..." "Anarchy Beryl?" "They're what you call Chaso Emeralds in your world." "Ah..., well that's just great. How are we supposed to stop that?!"

At this point, Sonic regains consciousness. It was odd how Shadow, Metal, Silver, and Rob O' the Hedge just popped out of nowhere one by one, or 2 in the latter's case. Then there was Rosy whom Sonic managed to distract from Buns earlier. The moebian's Omega Care Suit was badly damaged thanks to that psycho so she had to head back to Dr. Kintobor, Eggman's opposite, for repairs. There was some confusion as everyone was trying to fight each other but Sonic managed to convince the rest that they take out Scourge first.

Realizing he was now outnumbered, Scourge quickly ran to the throne room where he had some Anarchy Beryl stashed under the throne. After he had gained his super form, he proceeded to beat the tar out of everyone else. "Scourge may be strong in his current form, but there has to be a weakness...what happaned during all the times I went super?..." However, before he can think on it further, he's grabbed by his metal counterpart. "What the hell Metal?! What part of truce didn't you understand?!" "Chances of fighting Scourge in his current form register 0% chance of success. Priority one reenabled: Eliminate Sonic the Hedgehog!" Metal says before punching his flesh counterpart away.

The 2 begin a contest of power play, constantly using spin dash to try to get the upper hand on each other. However, this fight is cut short when Shadow decides to step in. He kicks Metal away from Sonic before grabbing the deadly robot. "You and I are going on a long trip..." He says before using Chaos Control. Both of them disappear, to where exactly is unknown. **(But this author knows)**

While that was happening, Rosy uses her hammer in an attempt to smash Scourge. "Oh Scourgey! I love you so much I just want to smash you!" She yells. Scourge turns and gets hit right on the head several times. In any other case this would have hurt, or probably killed him, but due to his invulnerability he's only mildly annoyed. He grabs Rosy by her neck. "You've been nothing but a pain in my side for _way_ too long Rosy..." He says before throwing her across the room. She hits the wall hard, knocking her unconscious. Rob O' the Hedge, who came to moments ago, ties her up. "It surprises me that such a fair maiden can be so deadly..." However, he then thinks of Amy. "Then again, tis' a resemblence of her..."

By this point in time everyone else is starting to awaken from their injuries. Sonic notices Miles trying to slip away but quickly intercepts him. "Hold up Miles. You got anymore Anarchy Beryl I can use to fight Scourge?" "That would be a pointless endevour. We hid the rest of them far away from this place." "Well how else are we going to take the 'high and mighty king' down?!" Sonic exclaimed. "I would suggest we lure him back to your world so we can-" Miles says but Sonic cuts him off. "I'm gonna say no to that, cause knowing you, you'll probably leave him back in our world for us to deal with. Also most of the chaos emeralds are out of reach anyway." Sonic says with a glare. Miles just shrugs.

Sally then formulates a plan. "We can try to wear him down long enough for his super form to fade. Silver! Hold in Scourge in place! Bunnie, Kor, and Boomer, you guys bring Scourge down to our level with your weapons. The rest of us, when he's down here, do as much as you can to tire him out!" Everyone nods and sets to work. Silver focuses and once again holds Scourge in place. "Still haven't learned from earlier huh? Fine by me, I'll just-" He's cut off as Bunnie, Boomer, and Kor fire at him simultaneously. He grunts in pain under the force of lasers and sonic pulses. He gets lower to the ground, until finally, "Everyone! Now!" The rest of the Freedom Fighters and Suppression Squad dog pile on to him. They punch, kick, smash, and do all they can to try to wear Scourge down. Victory seems almost in their grasp.

However, Scourge only grows further irritated. "Enough!" He shouts and blasts everyone off of him. "You think your petty little attacks can stop me?! I'll show you what real power is!" He yells at them, his fists glowing. He repeats his onslaught from before, this time with energy blasts, sending most flying. The 3 cybernetic welding mobians attempt to wear him down once more by charging up their attacks before firing simultaneously. Unfortunately, Scourge manages to deflect their attacks right back at them. The 3 are blown across the room as a result: Bunnie and Boomer's attacks hitting them in the chest and midsection respectively, while Kor's nails him right in the eyes. "Augh! My eyes!" He screams, holding his face.

Sonic, not willing to give up, bombards Scourge with a series of spin dashes. However, Scourge simply grabs him and throws him outside. A storm was raging all around them. Sonic is lying in a small puddle as Scourge floats over him. "Face it Sonic, you'll never beat me. I'm everything you could've been! With this immense power, I'm going to destroy this world. And once I'm finished here, Mobius is next! Nothing can stop me now!" However, as Scourge finishes his taunt, he notices Sonic is no longer below him. "Oh great..." He mutters before flying into the forest.

Sonic had run off into the forest while Scourge was monologging. "Good thing I gave that psycho the slip. Let's see, all the times I powered down I felt rejuvenated, but this is Moebius..." Sonic mutters to himself, then he smirks as a he formulates a plan in his head. A second later, Scourge appears before him and hits him with an energy blast, knocking him down. "So, thought you could be a coward run didn't you?!" However, Sonic just laughs. "What's so funny?!" "If anyone's the coward it's you! You had to go _super_ just so you could defeat me. You knew you never stood a chance against me, so you had to cheat to win." Sonic says, smirking at Scourge. "I only went super because you and those other hogs decided to gang up on me! I could beat you with one hand tied behind my back, and I'll prove it to you!" Scourge says before powering down.

However, as he does, he suddenly feels very weak and falls to the ground. "What...what happened?..." "Don't you know? This is Anti-Mobius! Whenever I power down from my super form with the emeralds, I get a boost, but since you used the Anarchy Beryl, it drained you of your strength." He says with a chuckle. Scourge gives a weak growl. "You...cheated me...I'm...king...conquered...this whole planet...You're...nothing..." At this point, Sonic crushes Scourge's crown, which fell off when he lost his super form, before grabbing him by his jacket. "You're a bully, and that's it. You take the easy, nasty way out, just to get a quick win. Big whoop." He then throws Scourge to the ground. "I do things the right way. I help others to make something bigger and better than just be mean. The good guys always win in the long run. And there isn't anybody who can run longer or better than I can." After that, Sonic grabs Scourge and drags him back to the castle.

At the castle, everyone is recovering from their second assault from Scourge. "Anyone know where Sonic and Scourge went?..." Tails asks. "I think I saw Scourge throw Sonic outside. They've been gone for awhile though...I hope Sonic pulls through..." Sally says. "Me too..." Amy adds. "Um, you guys may want to get over here!" Bunnie says. The others look over and see her kneeling next to Kor, who still had a hand over his eyes. He was muttering curses to himself though some were directed at Scourge. "Kor? Kor what's wrong?" Sally asks. "My eyes freaking hurt! Ugh!..." "Kor just calm down. Let me see them." Amy said. Being that Amy had some medical training she was technically the team's nurse. Kor slowly lifted his hand and opened his eyes. What they saw made everyone gasp. "...I can't see anything..."

Kor's eyes had some blood leaking from the tear ducts, they were red all over, and his pupils looked rather grayish and cloudy. "Ah think he might have been blinded when Scourge send our attacks back at us!" Bunnie told them. "I swear if I see that baby barf little...ow.." He squinted his eyes abit, causing more irritation. "Try not to squint so much, you'll hurt your eyes more." Amy told him. Kor just sighed. At that point Sonic and Scourge came back. "Anyone got a pair of handcuffs?" Sonic said. "Sonic you did it!" Tails said. "It took awhile, but it was nothing." Sonic said with a smirk. The Suppression grinned, seeing their plan had succeeded.

Sonic then notices Kor. "What's wrong with Kor?" "That damn basterd blinded me!" Kor pointed at Scourge. Sonic eyes go wide. Scourge manages to muster the strength to chuckle. "Hail..to the king baby.." Sonic glares at his evil counterpart. He was about to kick him in his face until a wrench went flying and the blunt end did it for him. "Did I hit him? I heard his voice and just threw it." Kor asks. Rotor chuckles. "Yeah, nailed him in the head." "As funny as that was, Amy, Tails, Rotor, take Kor back to New Mobotropolis to see if he can be treated." Sally says. They nod and get Kor to stand. Tails grabs his wrench before they head back through the globe posts.

They enter the lab again. "I'm gonna go find some bandages." Amy says before running out of the lab. Tails and Rotor sit Kor on one of the tables. "Out of curiosity...how bad does it look?" Kor said, opening one of his eyes. Rotor and Tails cringe at seeing the damage. "Well, to be honest with ya, it's pretty bad. It's all red and your pupil is gray and clouded..." Rotor told him. "Sorry this happened to you Kor..." Tails said. "It's fine...I just hope they can be fixed..."

Not minute later, Amy comes back with a roll of bandages, some tissues, and a wet rag. She cleans the blood off Kor's face and is careful to avoid hurting his eyes more. After that she wraps some bandages around his head to cover his eyes. "Ok that should do it. Tails, think you can take him to see Dr. Quack?" "Can do! Come on Kor!" Tails grabs his hand before heading outside. He twists his namesakes into a chopper blade fashion before lifting Kor off the ground. Though he struggled alittle due to Kor's weight, Tails manages to fly quickly back to the city. Amy then noticed Theron, who was still knocked out from earlier. "Um, who is that?" Rotor looks over. "That's Kor's counterpart Theron. He tried to kill everyone earlier but Kor beat him into submission." "Well in that case, he's not staying here." Amy said before grabbing the blue fox and tossing him back through the portal.

**A/N: And done! Welp, with Scourge no longer a threat, it's time to focus back on Eggman. But before that, the heroes need to deal with impending issues at home, and Kor's unfortunate circumstances.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Last chapter, the Freedom Fighters and Suppression Squad entered Moebius, only to find Scourge in his super form. While it was a hard fought battle, no one was able to match the evil hedgehog. However, Sonic managed to trick Scourge into powering down from his form, which left him weak due to the cost of using Anarchy Beryl. Then, as everyone was checking their injuries, it was revealed that Kor was worse than everyone else due to his eyes being heavily damaged from his own attack being reflected back at him. How will he overcome this inconvienience, and just how much trouble are the FF in for defying direct orders? Let's watch.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my OC. The Medic belongs to Valve.**

As Kor and Tails were heading back to New Mobotropolis, Tails decided to strike up a conversation. "Just out of curiosity Kor, you seem to be taking this rather well..." "Welp Tails, to be frank, I've suffered from much worse than this." Kor said. "Was this from your old "mercenary" days?" "Yeah. I'd tell you more about it, but it might...freak you out a bit." "Considering I've handled Eggman for years, I think I can handle what you can tell me." Tails stated. Kor shrugs. "Alright, I warned ya though. You ever been shot, burned, blugeoned, stabbed, gibbed, punch to death-" "Ok ok. Sorry I asked..." Tails said, nearly feeling himself about to empty the contents of his stomach. He sees the city in his sights. "We're almost there. Won't be long now." "I just wonder how the others will take it..." Kor said.

Nicole had been making continuous scans on the city ever since the Freedom Fighters and Suppression Squad went to Moebius. Over the past 3 hours she hasn't detected anything, but she soon saw 2 organic signatures approaching from the sky, making her tense. However, after getting visual confirmation she spotted Tails carrying Kor, but she saw Tails had a worried look on his face and Kor was sporting bandages. She exited her database to meet them.

Tails soon landed in the city. Kor only sighed. "Man being blind sucks. Normally I would've killed myself and come back anew but that was a long time ago." "Kor...wait, come back anew?" Before Kor could reply, Nicole materialized in front of them. "Hey you 2 what's-oh my processors what happened?!" She said after she got a good look at the red fox. "Hey Nicky. It's a looooong story..." He said with a sheepish smile. "No time to explain. We need to get him to the hospital!" Tails said before dragging Kor there.

Nicole floated along with them. "How did this happen? Did the Suppression Squad do it?!" Nicole said with a hint of anger in her voice. "No Nicole. Scourge managed to gain his super form. Everyone tried to stop him but we couldn't do much. At some point he deflected mine, Boomer's and Bunnie's attacks back at us...and mine happened to hit my face..." He finished, ears drooping on his head. "Oh Kor..." Nicole said with sympathy. "There may be something we can do. We just need Dr. Quack to check him out." Tails said as they reached the medical center.

Once there, Dr. Quack immediately saw to them. Being the main physician to the Acorn Family, he was well known by the other citizens as being the best doctor in the city. Kor explained what happened to his eyes and that he couldn't see anything but a gray haze. Quack took a good look at Kor's eyes, which had lost their redness but his pupils maintained their cloudy state. He also took x-rays of them to determine the cause.

"Hmm, according to these, the attack has severely damaged your retinas, hence the cause of your blindness." Quack stated. "Is there anything you can do doctor?" Tails asked. "Well, in normal cases of blindness, corrective laser eye surgery would be best.. But..." He said, taking a closer look at the photos. "Buuuuut...?" Kor asked. "Your retinas have been so damaged that laser surgery likely won't even work. The only way to fix this would be an eye transplant. Unfortunately...I haven't done such a task before. Sure I have replaced organs like hearts and kidneys, but eye transplant requires great attention and carefulness. Any wrong step can leave the person premanently blind." Dr. Quack explained.

"Well that's just swell..." Kor sighed. He really wasn't keen on the idea of being permanently left blind. "...Could you give them both physical check ups Dr. Quack? They look rather beat up after the fight with Scourge..." Nicole asked. "Ah, _that_ I can do. Right this way you 2." Quack directed. Minutes later the yellow and red fox were given full body scans to determine any physical damage, which thankfully there were none too serious. Tails ached a bit but was given some pain pills and was told to rest. With Kor on the other hand, Dr. Quack found something rather intruiging. The foxes were now sitting in hospital beds. "Um, Mr. Royce. May I ask you a question if you don't mind?" "Yeah?" "There appears to be some sort of metal device in your chest cavity. It looks to be attached to your heart."

Nicole and Tails both glanced curiously at what the good doctor said before he showed them the picture. Indeed, there was some kind of metal device in the former engineer's chest, right where his heart is. "I always wondered what that was...I knew Kor had something in there but was too afraid to ask." Nicole said. "Well, it's not a metal heart if that's what yer thinkin', but I can tell ya what it is." Kor said as he laid back on his bed. "That device your talking about is an uberfication amplifier. My old friend Klaus, our Medic, had installed them in each of us mercs so our hearts would withstand the electric current sent during an ubercharge." "Ubercharge?" Asked Quack.

"An ubercharge is a phase activated by the Medic's medigun. It basically allows people like myself to be pretty much invulnerable for a short period of time. However the process takes time to build. Now the medigun on the other hand, was something Klaus designed and built himself. It could heal even the nastiest of gashes and cuts in _seconds_. I even built a healing device in my dispensers based off it. It's not as powerful but it works. However, I don't think even the medigun can heal something like blindness..." "Hmm, it sounds like your collegue was a fond man of medicine himself." Quack said. Kor chuckled. "That's part of it. In most cases Doc said his job was, in his own words, 'doctor assisted homicide'. He also lacks a medical license and told us that healing was an unintended side effect of satisfying his own rather morbid curiousity." Kor began to laugh, even though Dr. Quack was a bit put off by how Kor described his friend.

"But, at least Medic meant well. He always kept us alive and in some cases if it weren't for him some of the attacks we've made would've failed." "Hmm, so that ubercharge effect...is that when your body glows metallic red and your eyes turn yellow?" Tails asked. "Yeah, or blue if its the BLU team. I think Heavy and Doc did it a couple times back when Gray was still around...wait a sec..." The others raised eyebrows at him as Kor sat up in his bed. "I think Klaus is still here on Mobius. I remember he said he wanted to study the biology of mobians. By now he probably has a good idea of how our bodies function, so he _might_ be able to perform the transplant." "Are you sure Kor? After all you said he didn't have a medical license." Quack pointed out. "Well, did I also mention I was _awake_ when he installed this uber implant?"

The other 3 became wide-eyed at that, however they didn't want to question him further on that. The doctor sweatdropped alittle. "Point taken...you know where he might be?" "If I'm right, he should be where I think he is. Got a phone?" Kor asked.

**-Meanwhile in** **Station Square-**

Klaus Hans Krueger, also known by his friends as the Medic, smiled as he looked at his work. He had just perfected a medigun that could be used in hospitals to treat those with serious injuries. Now, in what would take weeks to heal could be healed within seconds. Of course though he had dumbed down the voltage so it wouldn't kill the patient while in use. Also it only applied to physical injuries, not illnesses. He was still working on something for that.

After Gray had been killed, Klaus was curious about the biology of mobians and how they came about, along with the humans that were around on the planet as well. So, to satisfy his curiousity he stayed on Mobius for the last few months. He chose to stay in Station Square since apparently mobians didn't like humans much, or overlanders as some were called. Currently he works for G.U.N. as one of their top medical officers. Needless to say he ran some experiments that killed a few people, along with one that, yet again, involved a patient losing his skeleton but he managed to keep that from getting around. His celebration was interrupted when the phone in his lab rang.

"Er, hello?" He said with a distinguished German accent. "How ya doin' Doc?" It was Kor. "Ah, Herr Engineer! Is good to be hearing from you again. How 'ave things been going?" "Well you know, same old same old, getting into fights for our lives like almost every day. How are things on yer end?" "Excellent! I just finished one of my greatest works. Ze healing gun will be put to use in local hospitals, although I'm really curious as to how they'll affect ze humans here." He heard Kor chuckle on the line. "Heh, still the same old doctor from our battle days eh?"

"Jawohl. Now, vat iz ze reason you have called? Normally you vouldn't have called if it vasn't under abnormal circumstances." "Well, got into a bit of a fight with Sonic's anti-self and he deflected my attack back at my face...so I'm pretty much blind here and in need of an eye transplant." Kor explained. "Raah...reminds me of how ze pyro vould airblast thoze rockets at us...but good to zee you are still functioning. Vhere are you now theze dayz? I heard zat Knothole vas burned to ze ground by that damned Eggman." Klaus said with irritance in his voice. "We're in a city called New Mobotropolis. Me and Nicole built it months back." "Ze A.I.?" "Yeah. There's alot more to her Doc, a lot more." Nicole hinted Kor was talking about her and couldn't help but blush alittle.

"Anyway, how's the whole G.U.N. job workin'?" "It payz vell. Not az much az a mercenary but it's enough. I vill see if I can be zhere in a few dayz. Don't vorry kamerade, I am villing to do vatever it takes! Also I should check on ze condition of your uber amplifier. It might need replazing." Medic told him. "Alright, thanks Doc. See ya then." Kor said before hanging up.

"Doc said he'll be here in a few days." "Well that's good." Tails said in relief. "But, I wonder if the council will want to speak with us..." The young kit said nervously. "Yeah...technically we all defied direct orders about dealing with Scourge..." Kor said. "I will let the council know you both have returned, and I will inform them you aren't in any condition to explain what went on seeing as your..." Nicole paused, trying to find a word without offending him. "Don't worry about it Nicky. I'm fine, kinda. Besides I think they're more likely to give Sally an ear full since she's the field commander." Kor pointed out. "True...I'll be off then." Nicole said before disappating. "So what do we do now?" Tails asked. "Well Tails you are free to go. Just make sure to take those pain pills and get some rest. Kor, you have to stay here since you are unable to do much without assitance..." Quack said. "Ah understand doc." With that, Tails left the room and headed for his house.

**-A few hours later-**

The rest of the Freedom Fighters returned, except for Sonic. He was taking Scourge to a place called the No Zone Prison, and to have a chat with someone called Zonic. They paid a visit to the hospital to see how Kor was holding up, to which he informed them there was already a plan set in motion to fix his eyes. Afterwards, Nicole told Sally she was to head for the castle immediately. She was to be put on trial before the Council of Acorn for treason. To be fair, she knew this was coming. While the Freedom Fighters were _supposed_ to be focusing on Eggman, they defied direct orders to take on Scourge instead. But as they argued before, Scourge was a more present threat than Eggman at the time. However, the Council still thought otherwise. _"Alright...let's get this over with..."_ Sally thought inwardly.

"The Council of Acorn vs. Sally Acorn is now in session." Elias began. "Sally: do you swear to withhold the truth and tell nothing but the truth?" He asked. "Yes." "Ok, now then Ms. Acorn, as the Freedom Fighter's field commander, you have been summoned here under the accusation of defying orders by taking on Scourge the Hedgehog while you were ordered to only focus your attacks on Eggman. Is this true?" Hamlin asked. "Yes. It was under my command that we did that." "We also voted for Sonic to be punished after attempting to take back Freedom HQ despite our orders to leave it be for now. Instead, you 2 went and counter-invaded Moebius after meeting with the king. That's leading me to believe this may be part of a royal conspiracy..." Rosemary pointed out.

Sally shook her head. "That's ridiculous! I made the specifics of Sonic's punishment under my authority as field commander." "So you're saying it wasn't under your authority as princess?" Hamlin asked. "No." "So, does that mean you have no power outside of of being the field commander?" The pig asked again. "...Yes." Sally said after putting some thought into it. "So let me get this straight: You made your decision as field leader of the Freedom Fighters-a group that answers _directly_ to the Council of Acorn-yet you gave him orders without our consent. Therefore, you have just admitted to us that you went against direct orders of your superiors!" Hamlin pointed out.

Sally became a bit worried but she didn't show it. Instead she countered his argument. "Yes, Sonic's punishment was ordered by the Council, but the specifics of it were left to _me_. As such, any choice I made would have been approved by you." The chipmunk pointed out. "The Council wouldn't approve of actions that would undermine our authority." Hamlin countered. "Well, 2 council members had helped us build new star posts. That seems like obvious support to me." She fired back, folding her arms. "The star posts were built to go to the Special Zone so you may retreive the Chaos Emeralds, which is still an ongoing mission. Also, those 2 councilors were under your command as the field leader of the Freedom Fighters. Did you have a bigger invasion plan up your sleeve as well?" Hamlin asked. "No. An opportunity presented itself and we acted. As a result, we've retaken Freedom HQ and prevented a larger invasion from Moebius." Sally finished.

"Hmm...as good as that sounds the ends don't justify the means. If we let you Freedom Fighters just do whatever you want, there wouldn't be much of a reason to have a Council. Not only that, one of your members is currently in the hospital due to losing his sight from your last mission, and as acting field commander that would place you at fault." Hamlin pointed out. At that moment, Nicole had appeared in the room. "Sorry to interrupt but Kor wishes to say that it wasn't Sally's fault that he's in the situation right now. He says he knew the risks of being a Freedom Fighter and that it was his fault he didn't react quick enough to avoid his current situation. However, he says he has a friend arriving within a few days to help him with this problem, so there's no longer a need to worry about it. Sally's a great leader, but she shouldn't take responsibility for his own injuries." Nicole said with a smile before dissapating.

At the first they wondered how she kept track of the session but remembered that Nicole was wired to the whole city. With that aside, they continued on. However, Sally knew that she was beaten and sighed in defeat. "After all things considered...I plead guilty...it was my own decision to act against the Council's orders, but make no mistake I WILL not make that choice again. I won't act or give an order until I have approval from you, even in the heat of battle. You could discount any help from the Chaotix as they are free agents. They aren't in my control so I refuse to give them orders, but you can trust me with the duty I've had my _entire life_..."

After that, the Council took a moment to consider her actions. After a small debate amongst themselves, they decided to drop the charges held against Sally in a 6 to 1 vote. The 1 being Hamlin who still thought she should be punished. Rotor congradulated Sally for the turn around, and then he questioned when Sonic might return. Sally didn't know the answer to that, but she said she should thank Kor for his concern so she went to the hospital. When she got to his room, the red fox was sitting on his bed strumming a brown six-stringed guitar. He was playing a song she didn't recognize but it seems he knew it by heart. Nicole was also there as well, sitting in a chair.

She opened the door. "Um, sorry if I'm interrupting anything." They both turned in her direction. "Oh hey Sal. So how'd the trial go?" Kor asked. "It went over well. The charges against me were dropped. Nicole also popped in to give the message you sent so I decided to stop by to say thanks." She said. "Well, it's no problem. Kinda mad at Hamlin for getting into you like that, but you shouldn't take the blame for something that's my own fault. It's part of the job right?" The fox stated. "Very true." "So how did you find out what was going on there?" Sally asked. "Well, I asked Nicole if she could open up a small mic in the room so I could hear what went on. Speaking of which, why was Hamlin pesterin' you?" "It's abit of a long story..." Sally said as she grabbed a nearby chair.

"Some time ago I created group known as the Substitute Freedom Fighters. They were to take our place in the event that our group had either been captured or otherwise. They helped on a few occasions but overall didn't see much action. Three of the Council members were part of that group actually, Hamlin being one of them. However, from what he told me, he was usually left behind on several missions, and while he hasn't been able to fight for the people, he would make sure we would do it correctly." She finished.

"Well, I hope that doesn't cause any problems in the future, even though I'm sure it will..." Kor said. Sally nodded in agreement. "Hey Sally, did we tell you about the eye replacement Kor will have soon?" Nicole asked. "Yeah. I've heard that an old friend of yours was coming Kor?" "Yep. I'd tell you more about it, but I'm abit tired right now..." "Alright. We'll leave you be then." Both Sally and Nicole got up and left. Kor placed the guitar on the table next to him, or at least he hoped the table and not the floor, before tuning everything out to fall asleep.

As they walked through the building, Nicole decided to ask a rather personal question. "Um, Sally? Is it alright if I ask something?" "Sure. On what?" "Well...i-it's about Kor. You know how during that time I traded places with you for awhile to experience what it felt like to be a living person..and felt your feelings about Sonic?..." "Yes?..." "Well...I think that same feeling might be surfacing again, but this time towards the former mercenary..."

**A/N: And that's all she wrote. This chapter is certainly longer than the others, but as always I want to leave an interesting cliff hanger. Some would say computers don't have feelings, but obviously they never met Nicole.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Time for chapter 15. Last we left off, the rest of the Freedom Fighters returned to New Mobotropolis except for Sonic. He was taking Scourge to the No Zone Jail. Sally was accused for treason but by applying some logic and reasoning she was dismissed of all charges, and Kor set up a plan to get his eyes replaced. However, what no one figured out was what kind of eyes they could replace his with. Sure they could use regular mobian eyes, but let's just say I'll take it a step further. Also, it seems a certain A.I. has grown fond of the former engineer. Let's watch it play out shall we?**

**Also, for those wondering what kind of song Kor was strumming last chapter, it was More Gun from TF2. Meant to say that last time but forgot. If you're a TF2 fan, you'd know it. If you don't, you can find it on youtube.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my OC. Medic belongs to Valve.**

Sally was initially shocked at what her computer-based friend told her. She didn't think _Nicole_ of all people would actually seem attracted to the somewhat crazed fox. No offense to Kor, but some of his habits can be rather, _off_ to put it lightly. However, given that the 2 had spent the last few months working together, it wouldn't really surprise anyone else if they formed some sort of bond. Plus, another obvious indication was that they spent a good amount of time together even if it wasn't work related.

"Well, given that you both have been working together, rather close might I add, it seems like it would have happened eventually. However, I'm not sure just _how _you see him. Kor can sometimes be rather..." She trailed off, looking for word that wouldn't seem offensive. "Crazy?" Nicole finished. "Yes. His methods often don't clash well with ours. In fact, I've seen how he fights when Gray was still alive. He often acted crazy when shooting robots to bits, but then again so did the rest of his friends. If fighting his counterpart was any indication it seems he has a side to him he doesn't want to show now..." Sally explained.

"I'm aware of that...he was about to kill Theron but I managed to get him to stop. He also apologized to me about seeing that...I know he can be crazy at times but he has a kind and soft side to him that's starting to make my processors heat up the more I think about it. I wish I understand this affection more so I'd know how I felt..." Nicole finished sullenly.

"Well Nicole, love is a complicated emotion. There's not much to understand but most times you just act." Sally said. "Much like how you and Sonic went about it?" The A.I. said teasingly. "...Somewhat like that." Sally said, remembered their broken relationship. Even though they weren't officially together anymore, part of her still pined for the blue blur.

"...You think he might feel the same about me? I mean...if we do end up together how will it work? I'm an advanced A.I. and he's a full mobian..." Nicole asked after some thought. By now they were outside. The sun was starting to set, giving the sky a warm orange glow. "Well Nicole, only thing I can tell you is that love sometimes finds a way. Back with me and Sonic, sometimes I questioned why we were even a couple, and yet, something about him kept me to him, as him to me. Not everything will have an answer. Plus, if it helps, he does call you by your nickname at times." Sally said. "True." She said with a smile.

"Speaking of which, what were you two doing before I came in?" "After I came back from delivering his message, I wanted to ask him something..." Nicole began.

**-45 minutes earlier-**

Nicole re-materialized back into Kor's hospital room. "Message sent. Want me to send another?" "Nah, that's fine. Seems like they're just finishing." Kor said. Nicole thought back to what Kor was telling her before Miles had interrupted them. "Kor? Earlier you said something about a system called 'respawn'. I'm curious as to what that actually is."

"Welp, it's abit of a long story so you might wanna sit down for this." He heard Nicole pulling up a chair a second later. He sat up in his bed. "To be honest, I really shouldn't be alive right now...first time I died was about 4 years back when I first became an engineer for RED, but main reason I'm alive is because of that system. You see, Respawn is a system in which, if you were to die, the system would make you a new body with all your memories intact, including how you died. In order for it to work, the system needs a DNA sample from you so it can create a new you. Most commonly we used hair and blood samples as that's usually enough. Once the system recognizes you, it uses that DNA to create body tissues and nerve systems to go from there, almost like how babies are formed in expecting mothers. It takes about a couple minutes to create a new body before it places the memory of your previous body into it. Then, it teleports the newly made you into one of the resupply rooms of either team. Of course, you'll still ache on the area that caused your death but otherwise you'll be fine. From what I learned, the more you die, the faster you end up being respawned."

"Um...just how many times did you...die?" "More than I can count...probably over 1000 times since I was killed multiple times on a daily basis." Nicole was baffled by what he just told her. That might explain why he was rather relaxed about it. Even if he died, he'd just come back and kill whoever killed him and vice versa. It started to make her uncomfortable. "I-I see...d-did you ever fear of not respawning?"

"Yeah...both teams did, which is why the system was always up to date. Any time the system went down, no one wanted to fight for fear of that person not coming back. One time the system went down whilst a daily fight. A few were dead already and everyone refused to fight one another during that time. We all feared the guys dead wouldn't come back...but thankfully the system was restored and they came back within a few minutes. Everyone on both teams may have killed each other for a living, but we did it because we knew that person wouldn't be truly dead. We couldn't bear taking the life of someone permanently...unless they deserved it..." Kor finished, thinking about his dead foe.

Nicole smiled. Even though Kor was technically less sane than the rest of the Freedom Fighters, he still cared about the others and wanted to protect them. "I understand your point. But...what about your counterpart? You nearly ended him..." Kor looked down. "I think I was just in the middle of the moment there...sometimes I forget that I'm not on a RED or BLU base...but he threatened to kill everyone else..." "So I'm guessing Gray deserved that fate?" "He killed our bosses, fired us and tried to kill _us_ too but failed. I'm pretty sure no other place would hire us psychos and given that he tried to take our lives, he earned his place in hell..." Kor said with spite.

Seeing Kor upset, Nicole didn't want to press that further. "Sorry I asked that..." "It's fine. You were just curious is all." "...You said respawn could help me get a real body. How would that work?" Kor scratched his head in thought. "Well, in order for it to work I would need blood and hair samples for it to begin replication. So, I would need samples from several lynxes. Also, I think it's possible to edit the body structure so it can appear as you do now. Thing is...nothing like that has been done before but it's possible it might work." "...You...you would really do something like that for me?" "Heck yes! I may be blind right now but I've seen how you strived to be 'alive.' It was why you made your holographic form right?" Kor asked.

"Yes. Yes it has...as I said before, ever since I had experienced having a body using Sally's...I've felt rather incomplete with myself...it's hard enough understanding emotions sometimes as it is, and I've felt that being a real mobian would help me be closer to everyone else. It's why we built many holo-matricies around the city so I could maintain this form, to work along side everyone else...but even then I can only hold it for so long if something happens to the city..." Nicole explained.

Kor nodded his head in agreement. "Well Nicky, I'll promise you this. When we finally have the time to, you won't be able to worry about holding your form anymore. I WILL do what I can to help you reach that dream. I've told you that earlier as well." Kor said with a smirk. Nicole smiled and laughed a bit. "You know, for someone who calls himself a psycho, you know how to get me to smile..." She said. "Don't I normally do?" The fox said teasingly. "Speaking of which, I know a couple songs actually. Want to hear 'em?" "Sure." "Great. Uh...mind getting my guitar from my house?"

**-Present Time-**

"So he said he'd make you a new body with the system he described? Would that even work?" Sally asked. "He isn't sure himself, but he said he would try. I think maybe if he showed Rotor the system he could help too." Nicole told her. Sally smiled a bit. "Well, he may have not said it yet, but I think he's getting attracted to you already. No one's made a promise like that before, and given his history, it might work." Sally sad with a smirk. "I-I guess so." Nicole said, a small blush pixelating on her cheeks. "And I think I know how to help him with his current issue." She said, smiling. Sally raises an eyebrow. "How?"

"Since Kor will be getting his eyes replaced soon, I noticed we haven't talked about what to replace them with. Everyone assumes it's just another pair of regular eyes, but if they get damaged as well they'll need to be replaced again. So instead of organic eyes, I'm going to make a pair of cybernetic eyes so if they get damaged I can easily fix them, with some extras..." Nicole said with a smirk.

Sally clasped her hands. "That's brillant Nicole! But, do you know how to construct an eye? You'd have to make the optics, retinas, nerves to connect to the brain..." "I do Sally. I've studied mobian biology enough, and while talking with Kor, I was secretly measuring the dimensions of his eyes. Also, I can have Rotor help me." She said to the chipmunk. "Well, alright then. Should we tell Kor about it?" "Hmmm...no. I want it to be a surprise." Nicole smiled.

**-3 Days Later-**

Klaus smiled as the G.U.N. transport landed at the New Mobotropolis airport in the morning hours. Finally, he could put his skills to use. It's been awhile since he last performed an operation on any of his former friends, but now he was just glad he could be out of the lab. Being stuck in there for hours really drained the man's mental strength sometimes. He had his medigun kit ready incase any problems arose while he was operating on Kor. He also received a note from Rotor on what kind of eyes he would put into Kor. His smile that day grew since he wanted to see what kind of effect it would have on the former engineer. Good thing he had some experience with installing cybernetics if the uber hearts was any indication. As he stepped out he was greeted by Sally and Sonic. Sonic arrived back yesterday and assured everyone that Scourge won't be a problem anymore.

"Hey there Doc. Long time no see!" Sonic said. "Ah, Sonic ze Hedgehog and Ms. Sally Acorn. It haz been months zince we last met. How 'ave thingz been?" "Well, it's been touch and go with recovering from our last mission and planning to take down Eggman." Sally said. "Ooo! And vat vould zat be?" "Can't tell ya til later Doc. Now come on, the other doctors are waiting for you." Sonic said before he and Sally led the human to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Nicole and Rotor were finishing the final touches to a pair of cybernetic eyes. They were your average mobian eyes, even with the sclera (the white part of the eye) being a metallic white instead of black like you would see on a robot such as Metal Sonic. Nicole made this part so Kor wouldn't feel weird with his eyes being a different color. The eyes had blue wires that would resemble veins running from the back half along a nerve cable that was to be connected to Kor's brain. They wires were also slightly visible within the sclera itself.

On the inside is where it gets more technical. Thin yellow wires made up the retinas to help the pupil take in light and transmit this down the optic nerve to the brain. The lens were what you would expect with someone with 20/20 vision, but Nicole took it a step further. The lens could change color to activate certain views, such as night vision and thermal vision. They could also open up more to let the user see far away objects more clearly. She added these in after remembering how Hornet's eyes were built. Along with the eyes was another small cable with a USB port. Nicole theorized that if Kor's eyes were to be fixed at any point, she would enter them to correct the damage. It's also how she tested them to see if they work. Right now she was inside them, finishing optimizing the nerve system.

The only thing they needed was conjunctiva, or tissue that surrounds the eye so it wouldn't irritate the engineer. However, Klaus said he would take care of that. "I can't thank you enough for helping me with this Rotor." Nicole said. "Ah it's nothing. It's what us Freedom Fighters do." Rotor replied with a smile. "I'm still happy we managed to get these finished in time. Are you finished tweaking them?" "Yep." She said before exiting the eyes and entering the city mainframe. Rotor put the eyes in a special container to preserve them before they headed for the hospital.

When they arrived, the other Freedom Fighters and Chaotix were there. They were all sitting in the waiting room just outside the doors to the operating room. "Attention everyone! These eyes are now ready to be put to use!" Rotor announced. "I didn't think they'd be ready by now. How long did you guys work?" Tails asked. "Two days without any sleep to be honest. Since I'm a computer I don't tire out, though Rotor could use a nap." Nicole said.

To prove her point, Rotor yawned in agreement. "Well you can rest while we wait. How long is Kor supposed to be in there?" Knuckles asked. "For a couple of hours I heard. I hope that overlander knows what he's doing." Julie-Su said. "Well, Kor had called him in for this reason. Ah think he knows his business." Bunnie pointed out. "Are they in there now?" Nicole asked. "Yeah. They're waiting for you 2." Mighty said.

"I'll take them in. You get some well-needed rest Rotor." Nicole said before taking the container from him. She walked in and saw an overlander whom she assumed was the Medic, along with a few other doctors, and Kor, who was lying on the table. He was hoisting his medigun up to the ceiling while explaining to Dr. Quack how the medical tool was used. "Excuse me Mr. Medic. Here are the eyes!" She said with a smile. Medic and Dr. Quack looked inside the container and saw them. "Ah, perfect. These vill vork vonderfully. Now please leave frauline. Ve have science to work on!" He said with joy. "You sure you know what yer doin' Doc?" Kor asked. "Don't vorry schweinehunde, zis von't hurt a bit." Nicole left just as Kor was given anesthetics to be put under.

**-2 hours later-**

Kor groaned abit as the anesthetics were wearing off. "Ugh. I ever tell you I hate bein' put under sometimes?..." He said to no one in particular as he opened his eyes. To his surprise and delight, he could see everything clear as day again. No longer was he hindered by his damaged eyes. "Well I'll be. I can see again!" "Relax dummkopf, I'm not finished yet." Medic said. "Uh..." Kor looked down and saw his chest cavity opened. He noticed his heart was missing but a constant healing beam was keeping him alive. "Doc what are you doin?" "Remember how I said ze uber device might need replacing? I vas right. It has shorted out over its life span." The man held the device to Kor, which was still attached to his heart. Aside from being covered in blood it definitely looked like it ceased to work.

"Guess I've been carryin' dead metal this whole time." Kor said. "Shouldn't he still be asleep for this Klaus?" Dr. Quack asked. "Oh relax. I've done zis before. I even did it on myself as well." Medic chuckled. The other doctors were shocked to say the least. Medic removed the device and threw it away before taking out a new one. "Now, most heart's couldn't vithstand this voltage, but I'm very certain yours vill." He said as he attached it and held it near the healing beam.

Unfortunately, the electric current was too great, causing the heart to explode. It made a loud popping sound that woke the group in the waiting room, as well as spraying blood on Klaus. "What was that?" Antoine asked. "Sounds like it came from the operating room." Vector said. Curiously, the group poked their heads in. "I hope you got a spare Doc..." Kor said in a deadpanned voice. "Hey! He's awake!" Charmy said before rushing in. "Charmy! Get back here you idiot!" Vector yelled.

The doctors were surprised at the hyperactive bee's appearance before he started asking Kor a ton of questions. "Can you see anything now? How come you're chest is cut open? Is that what we all look like inside-" Espio put a hand over his mouth before he could go any further. "Sorry to interrupt. Shouldn't Kor still be asleep right now?"

"Vell, yes, but it's fine. I only needed him out so I could install his new eyes." Klaus said. "You can vatch if you vant." He said before finding a replacement heart, abeit one a bit bigger than Kor's original one. The Chaotix and Freedom Fighters were a bit disgusted by this but, curiosity got th ebetter of them and wanted to see how it would turn out. However, Charmy, Saffron, and Ray had to have their eyes covered lest they get nightmares about it.

"Now vhere vas I? Ah yes." Medic said as he attached the uber amplifier to the heart. He placed it near the healing beam once more. This time, the heart didn't explode and it was begining to beat on its own. "Come on..." Medic said with a wicked smile as the heart beat faster and started to glow metallic red. He also started to laugh crazily, creeping out everyone besides Kor.

Soon it became to bright to look at before it died down, revealing an ubercharged heart. "Vell, that looks good." He said before dropping on Kor's chest cavity. "I really wish I was still asleep right now." " Yes vell, since you're awake can you hold your ribcage open a bit? I can't...seem..."Medic said as he tried to push the heart back into place.

Kor held his ribcage open alittle wider, but then screamed in pain as it went in. He then realized he accidentally broke one of his rib bones off, again. This happened the first time these things were installed. "Well that's just great..." He said before tossing it away. "Don't very, ribs grow back." Klaus siad, pinching the fox's cheek. "No they don't..." Dr. Quack whispered. "I know but he doesn't need to know zat..." Medic whispered back.

Then, he grabbed the medigun and held it close to Kor's chest cavity. He powered it up and everyone watched in amazement as the skin, muscle, and bones molded back into place before closing fully. Kor breathed a deep sigh in relief, though his chest hurt a little.

"Amazing! Normally it would take an additional hour to close an opening like that, but this device makes it only seconds?" One of the other doctors asked. "Yes. I 'ave finished making preparations for some to be distributed in hospitals in Station Square as vell." "Is it possible to lend us a few Klaus? It would severely cut down on time needed to close wounds." Dr. Quack asked. "Is suppose I could. Just remember zat they can only fix damaged tissue and bones. Organs still need to be replaced." Medic said.

Kor stretched a bit before getting off the table. "So how do you feel Mr. Fix it?" Sonic asked. "A whole lot better. I can actually see more clearly than with my previous eyes. What did you replace them with?" "Cybernetics." Both Rotor and Nicole said. Kor looked at them both. "Wait...so that means you two..." "Yep. We built cybernetic eyes for you so in case your eyes are damaged again, they'd be easy to fix. And you can thank our A.I. here! She's the one who though of it." Rotor said. Nicole blushed a bit but smiled.

Kor smiled back as Medic handed him a mirror. He could his eyes had some notable features on them that would let one know they're robotics, but from a far away glance they'd appear as normal eyes. "They're perfect...thanks a bunch Nicky."

**A/N: And that's enough for now. With Kor's ailment cured, the two groups can now shift focus back to Eggman. But, needless to say, the good doctor will be ready for them.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Time for chapter 16. Last time you've read, Kor finally had his eyes fixed, and with that said and done, the Freedom Fighters can put their focus back on Eggman. However, it won't be easy, given how much time Eggman had between attacks.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my OC.**

"So is there anything else about these eyes I should know?" Kor asked Nicole shortly after being discharged from the hospital. Everyone else went to the Royal Amry HQ for an important meeting, except for Klaus. He had departed for Station Square. "I added two different views that would allow you to see in darkness as well as heat signatures." "So night vision and thermal vision?" "Yes. Given your personality, I thought it might be helpful to you." The A.I. smiled. "Of course, Rotor asked me if that was a bit much, but I didn't think so." "Well I'll tell you it can come in handy if we ever need to pull off a night mission or fog." Kor said. "Oh, and your lens can enlongate to allow you to see far away objects." "You sure I might need something like that?" Nicole just shrugged."You could double as a scout sometimes." "True. I'm gonna go back to my house for a minute, then go meet the others to discuss our plan of attack." "Alright. Take care Kor." Nicole said before dissapating.

**-Meanwhile: Eggdome, New Megaopolis-**

Snively Robotnik was sitting in his office, currently chatting with someone on a private line through his computer. Despite the loss of the crucial communications tower, the Eggdome had a system called the Egg Network that could still reach the other continents. "Ah Regina dear. How have things been going in the Dragon Kingdom?" "The Four Houses have willingly submitted to our rule. Unfortunately I had to make an example of the Yagyu bride so they would follow without question, but at least they know their place now. Also, a certain pest has been driven out as well. How are things with your so called 'uncle'?" "His past defeats have been gnawing at his psyche for awhile now. It's only a matter of time before he loses himself to his own insanity." Snively said.

Before he could press any further, Eggman called him via intercom."Colin! Come to the lab at once!" Snively sighed. "Coming uncle...sorry deary but the fat one needs me...I'll be in touch." He said before closing the comm. line. For those who didn't know, Regina was known as Regina Ferrum, or the Iron Queen. She was orginally a Sub-Boss in the Dragon kingdom working for Eggman, until she had the means to make her own army. She, along with the Iron King, formed a large scale force called the Iron Dominion. This group consisted of four previously warring clans that had submitted to the dominion's rule, and later helped wipe out the Freedom Fighter groups in the Dragon Kingdom. Other Freedom Fighters have yet to know about this, but the Iron Dominion will become a theat in the near future.

_"Hmm, Uncle Robotnik hasn't called me by my birth name for a long time. He must be losing his grip faster than I anticipated...Oh well, at least Regina may be able to put her plan into action much sooner."_ Snively thought to himself with a grin as he walked into the lab. "Snively! Get behind the blast shield! I need you to monitor the readings of my newest creation." Eggman said. The evil dictator himself was sitting in a large bird like contraption that closely resembled a phoenix. Snively couldn't helpbut chuckle.

"And just what is that thing supposed to be uncle? A new talking bird of yours? Maybe we should give it that saying 'Does Polly want a-'" He was cut off a large flame attack was blasted at the shield. He screamed as the flames licked the face of the shield, yet he could still feel the instense heat the robot's burners gave out. "Now that you've stopped your incessant rambling, what are the readings like?" Eggman asked. "T-there well above your expectations s-sir!" Eggman smiled evilly. "Excellent. The Egg Phoenix is now ready..."

**-New Mobotropolis: Royal Army HQ-**

While Eggman was preparing his latest weapon, both the Freedom FIghters and Chaotix were discussing their battle strategy. "Ok everyone, the day is near. Now that we don't have any more issues to deal with, it's time to take the fight back to Eggman!" Sally exclaimed, prompting the others to cheer. "However, it won't be easy. Since Scourge distracted us Eggman had time to build up some defenses, and he still has the part of the Dark Legion under his command..." "We can handle the Legion. Although they can be formidable in numbers, with us together they shouldn't be too much trouble." Knuckles said. Although he was still upset about fighting his own kind, he knew he had no choice in the matter. Maybe Eggman's defeat would help them see the error of their ways.

"Well that's one thing, but what about those extra arms he probably has?" Sonic asked. "Well, that's where Kor comes in." Sally said, causing Kor to raise an eyebrow. "Anything that could be deadly to us can be handled by your robot correct?" "OH. Yeah, it should be able to handle it. Hornet can pick out targets from a distance before firing. Given that Eggman probably has some AA stashed around I'll have it take those out first." Kor said. "You better not have it fire on the Dark Legion buddy..." Knuckles said darkly. "Don't worry man. I won't have it kill them, I know how you guys are on that issue. At most I'll have it fire warning shots just to push them back." Kor said assuringly.

"Right. Once the Dark Legion is subdued, we'll push into the Eggdome and take down Eggman once and for all!" Everyone cheered once more.

Afterwards, everyone began making necessary preparations for the mission. Sally and Sonic went to consult the Council to begin the mission, which was unanimously approved, Antoine was sharpening his sword while Bunnie was checking her cybernetics, and Tails was at his house gathering some stuff. Shortly after the Council's vote, Rotor was prepping a transportation vehicle. With the Chaotix, Mighty and Knuckles were sparring against each other, Ray was watching them, Espio was meditating, Julie-Su was chatting with Saffron and Charmy was bugging Vector with unimportant questions. Even Nicole was getting herself ready. She was going to broadcast the mission to the whole city via her PDA form.

Kor himself headed straight for the airport to tell his Hornet the good news. He felt rather sorry for the poor thing. Ever since he and Nicole built the drone, it had seen little combat to the point its existence was called into question. Kor remembers back when the Council asked him about the robot's purpose at this point since most of the badnik army was destroyed thanks to Enerjak. However, Kor assured them it could still provide close support and even as a transport since it was big enough, but he knew the gunship wanted to shit fire at something for a long time, as it was built for. Maybe now this would be the time it could prove itself.

"Good news Killer! You finally get to shoot at something!" The robot nearly hit the ceiling as it jumped for joy. "Easy there pardner. Just gotta load up your weapons and make sure everythin's still workin' properly. I don't like the fact you had to sit in here all the time but there wasn't much use for you...til now that is." Kor grinned. Getting more weapons wasn't an issue, as Kor made a dispenser capable of producing them well before Scourge came to town. Said dispenser was also used to maintain the sentry batteries around the city. After he finished loading the drone, he strapped on a pair of black goggles and a black glove that fit his organic hand. He then walked over to another table that he had hidden from site so no one would notice it upon first entry. Sitting on it was a rocket launcher that back in its day was known as a Direct Hit. It fired rather fast rockets but lacked splash damage. However, since Kor had newer eyes this wouldn't be a problem.

Course, now one would wonder how an engineer would even wield a weapon like that, but Kor had asked Soldier to show him how to use it a year ago. One simple trip to the Mann Co. store was all it took to acquire one. The red fox lifted it up and mounted it on his shoulder. It was a little heavy but not too much to be unusable. "The others are gonna flip when they see me with this, but one way or another, we're gonna end this damn war." He said before stowing it away. He then strapped on his old toolbelt before heading out.

Minutes later, the drone lifted itself into the air with Kor riding on its head. It flew to the outside wall where everyone else was waiting. "So you guys ready?!" Kor yelled over the noise. "You bet! Let's go crack that Egghead!" Sonic said and sped off. Most of the others rode in the large off-road vehicle that Rotor was currently driving while those who could fly soared along side it. The heroes were confident that this time, they could finally beat Eggman and bring him to justice, and no shred of doubt was found in their minds.

**-Half an hour later-**

The Hornet flew low over the forest to avoid being spotted by radar. Even though most of New Megaopolis was destroyed during Enerjak's rampage, the Eggdome still boasted strong defenses. Kor jumped off while Tails caught him. "We're close to the city. I hope that drone will be ok." Tails said. "Don't worry, it was built to take some hits. Plus, it's going to open up a path for us." Kor replied. The gunship flew closer to the city, its radar constantly scanning for threats. It soon picked up anti-air placements and some hidden automatic guns near the Eggdome. Everyone watches as it hovers for moment, locking up the targets, before opening fire with its missiles.

The missiles strike various positions, causing others to fire at the robot itself. It dodges before getting close to fire its rockets and gun. While it's preoccupied with this, the heroes charge through the ruined city. They then notice Dark Egg Legion troops approaching. "Freedom Fighters! Clear them out!" Sally orders. Both sides clash, the D.E.L. firing their weapons at the Freedom Fighters yet they manage to subdue a good number of the battalion.

Lien-Da is watching the battle from her hoverpod. She grins that the heroes have stopped advancing but she's also keeping an eye on the drone blasting at the defenses. "Get the anti-air lasers ready, and shoot that nuisance down." "Ma'am, the Freedom Fighters are pinned over that ridge." A legionnaire tells her. "Good. If we can keep them back that'll make them think twice before-" She was cut off as she looks back on the field. To her shock, she sees that the Chaotix have flanked the attacking troops and are currently forcing them back.

_"Oh great...the Chaotix were enough trouble, but with both them and the Freedom Fighters we won't stand a chance..." _The cyborg says to herself. "All soldiers within the Eggdome, we need backup. Repeat: we need backup-" She gets cut off as her hoverpod suddenly explodes from under her. Sonic uncurls feet away from her as Lien-Da lands roughly on the ground. "Sorry to cut your call short but we don't need any more trouble from you guys." The echinda glares at the hedgehog. "You'll pay for this you blue menace!" She says, uncurling her whip before cracking it at the blue blur. "Ow! Geez watch where you swing that! You could really hurt someone." Sonic says as he dodges more lashes from the whip.

As Lien-Da readies another strike, her whip is suddenly cut in half. "A lady such az yourself should not be handling such a tool." Antoine says, sword at the ready. "You Freedom Fighters will get what's coming to you. Just you wait...for now I'll relent." Lien-Da says before retreating with other legionnaires while still calling for support. "I doubt she can back up what she says. At this point she's just spouting hot air." Sonic says with a smirk. "Oui." Antoine agrees.

Elsewhere among the ruins, Sally is watching the progress of the battle when Charmy flies up to her. "Ms. Sally! All of our enemies are running away!" "Alright. That should give us time for the next part of our plan." She then gets a call from Tails. "Hey Aunt Sally. I finished earlier than expected. What should I do now?" "Go and meet with the others. I'll be right there." Next, Kor called her. "Hey Sal. Hornet's taken a little damage but it cleaned up whatever automatic defenses were around. Also some of them legionnaires tried shooting it down but it sent them screaming. Want me to let it continue chasin' 'em?" "No. Let them go and fall back for now." "Alright." Kor says before ending the call. After that, Sally and Charmy head a section of the ruins where the others are waiting.

However, the Dark Egg Legion wasn't finished yet. Lien-Da has the troops surround the heroes from several positions among the ruins. "You think you've won this battle, but it isn't over yet! All troops! On my mark!" The legionnaires ready their guns. "Fire!" She exclaimes. However, just as they do, they realize none of their weapons are working. "What?! What's going on?!" "Did you think we would let ourselves be surrounded without a plan? We've had some neutralizing mines laid out across this area, so your weapons are now ineffective. With that said, are you willing to surrender or do we need to convince you?" Sally says to Lien-Da.

Just then, a ball of fire erupts from the top of the Eggdome. "What the hell is that?..." Kor asks. "Wish I knew Kor. Wish I knew.." Bunnie says. The fire disappears to reveal Eggman's newest creation: The Egg Phoenix. "You know what they say Freedom Fighters?", says Eggman, who is piloting the mech, "If you can't take the heat, then get out of the kitchen!" It dives down at everyone, sending a violent torrent of fire. This causes everyone to scatter, including the D.E.L. who is in full retreat again. "How do we stop something that big?!" Charmy screams. The heroes try to meet together to formulate a plan, but the fire bird keeps spraying fire everywhere. The intense heat causes some of the metal in the area to begin melting.

"I know I've heard of pyrotechnics but this is ridiculous!" Sonic shouts. "Don't worry I'll distract it. Hornet! Shoot down that flying turkey!" Kor shouts. The gunship complies and fires a few missiles at the bird. Unfortunately, Eggman just burns the missiles down when they get close. He then sends a torrent of flame at the robot. It dodges to the side and retaliates with its main gun. As the two bots spit fire at each other, this gives the others time to formulate a plan. "Ok so anyone got a plan? Not sure if my robot can stand getting burned..." Kor tells them. "I'm thinking of one...that's it! Tails, do you still have some neutralizing mines left?" Sally asks the kit. "Just a few." "That should be enough. Now here's the plan..."

A few minutes pass and Eggman is growing steadily infuriated. While he managed to block the gunship's rockets and missiles, the bullets were eating into the phoenix's armor. "That blasted insect will make a nice addition to my wall..." He says before shooting another burst of flame. This hits the drone, the heat making the paint begin to peel off and causing it to nearly overheat. The gunship then retreats, not wanting to take another attack. Smiling to himself, Eggman than focuses back on the heroes. "Where are you Freedom Nuisances?! I promise this will only hurt A LOT!" He laughs into the mic.

Suddenly, Sonic runs out into the middle of the open. "Nice fireworks Eggman, but your Egg Sparkler hasn't hit me yet!" "Grrr! I'll show you rodent!" The doctor dives toward the hedgehog, who gets tossed up into the air by Vector, with Knuckles, Tails, and Bunnie tossing him higher. Kor's robot then swoops in, to which Sonic grabs one of its legs and it carries him higher. At this point Eggman is following them in a straight vertical climb. "Hey Egghead! You know what happens when a plane flys in a straight climb for too long?" Sonic taunts him.

Eggman then realizes his mistake, but before he can correct it, the phoenix stalls. As it plummets to the ground, Eggman desparately tries to pull the nose up. Unfortunately for him, when he gets close enough Ray, Charmy, and Saffron plant a few neutralizing mines onto the plane, to which Tails activates them. The bird becomes completely unresponsive, causing it to make a rough landing on its belly. An enraged Eggman floats away from the wreckage in his egg pod, just as the plane explodes. "Mark my words Sonic! You _will_ pay for this!" He yells, retreating to the Eggdome.

Sonic regroups with the others as the Hornet lands near the group. "Chalk up another loss for ol' eggy. Nice plan Sal." "Thanks." She smiles. "So what do we do now? Seems to be getting late." Vector says. "Well, given that our enemies have retreated and I doubt they'd make an attack any time soon with the mines laid, seems like a good idea to camp out for the night." Sally said. Knuckles shrugs. "Fine by me, but I think I'll keep watch incase they try to attack us in our sleep." "You sure you can handle something like that Knuckles?" Kor asked. "I've guarded the Master Emerald for weeks at a time without sleep. I can handle one night shift." The others gave voices of approval before going about to set up camp. Hopefully, the night would go on without any problems.

**A/N: And that's chapter 16. The heroes have successfully invaded the Eggman Empire and are ever closer to defeating Eggman. Will the heroes actually prevail this time? Or will it just be another tug-o-war power struggle? Knowing that Eggman has his back to the wall, no doubt he'll do what he can to prevent his defeat. **

**Also, I thought of a song for the gunship when it's attacking foes and found one that would suit it well. It's called South America Action from the game Apache Air Assault. I would post the link but for some reason whenever I save it the first half of the link disappears.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in the next chapter. Had been working on more important stuff and didn't have much inspiration to write the next one. However, I did have two ideas come in mind, which I'll tell after this chapter is over. With the heroes having driven off Eggman's forces, it's only a matter of time before they collapse.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega except my OC.**

"Hey Tails, got a question for ya." Kor spoke. "Yeah?" "You know how those mines disabled the Dark Legion's weapons? If it can knock out guns and even Eggman's flyer, how come Hornet is still active? And along with that, how are my eyes still working?" "Well, I designed them to be able to knock out simple weapons like guns as you stated, so they wouldn't knock out your cybernetics unless you touched it. In the case of Eggman's Phoenix, they have to be attached to a large mech for them to work." Tails explained. "Ah. So basically right now mine and Bunnie's lasers don't work right now?" "Well, yes...but the Dark Legion can't get close enough to us due the wide radius the mines have. Oh, and your marshmellow is burning." The red fox cursed to himself before blowing out the treat.

After the Legion retreated, the heroes had set up camp among some of the debris scattered in the area. Charmy thought it would be a good idea to bring snacks in case they had to camp out for the night, which wasn't a bad idea. Currently everyone was sitting around a fire pit chatting amongst themselves. The gunship was sitting close by, surveying the area. The heroes could also faintly hear the beeping of a few sentries sitting outside the mine's radius. Kor set them up so Knuckles wouldn't have to pull night duty.

"Hey Sally, mind me askin' on what we'll be doing tomorrow?" Kor asked. "Tomorrow, we're going to make an opening into Eggman's Headquaters and clear out the place. No doubt they'll be waiting for us...I'm actually surprised they haven't tried an attack already." Sally said. "Given how easily we ran them off, they must be scraping the bottom of the barrel right now." Julie-Su chimed. Sonic swallowed his smore before adding in. "Yep. Ol' Eggy has his back against the wall. Everytime he threw us for a loop we always managed to bounce back and he's also made comebacks too. But this time, _he's _the one going down for good." He finished. "After everything that crazed dictator did, it'd be nice to finally see him behind bars." Espio said. "I hear that! Can't wait til we crack that rotten egg!" Vector cheered.

"Hey Kor, got a question that's been on mah mind for awhile." Bunnie said, making Kor look at her. "You mention yer 'old days' occasionally, yet you don't look that much older than us." "Well, to be honest I'm 22, ain't that much older than Scout, and he's 20. What about you guys?" "18" "20" "17" "16" 6!" "11", came the various responses, though Kor gave Amy a weird glance. She looked closer to 17 than 11. "God I feel old..." This caused everyone else to laugh. "Don't worry 'old man'. We'll escort you home when we head back." Sonic joked. Kor gave a dry laugh.

"That reminds me, were we recording the whole time?" Amy asked. "No. We haven't set up the link to Nicole yet, but we'll do that in the morning." Sally said, yawning. "We should get some sleep. Got a big day tomorrow." She finished. "Well in that case I'm gonna check how much ammo Hornet has." Kor said before walking over the the large drone. He opened up the side weapons bays and counted how many rockets and missiles it had, then he checked the gun's ammo. In short, it didn't have much. It had less than half of its rockets and a few missiles left, and the gun was low on bullets due to fighting the Egg Phoenix. _"Hopefully we won't need to use it further..." _He thought to himself, especially since some of the paint had peeled off from its heated fight.

After a short while, the fire was put out and everyone went to sleep. Despite being in enemy territory, the sky was bright with many stars. Rotor and Tails even pointed out a few constellations before dozing off.

**-Next Morning-**

Sally began to stir was the sun's morning rays hit her eyes. When she was fully awake, she saw everyone else was either still asleep or beginning to wake up. She noticed Rotor was also wide awake. "Rotor? Didn't think you'd be up already." "Had so much on my mind that I couldn't sleep. However, I was able to set up a link to New Mobotropolis." Rotor told her. "Sweet! Now all we have to do is sync with Nicole and we're set." "What's the point of this broadcast again?" Sonic asked, stretching his legs. "It's so the people will know of what's happening. After Nicole syncs in, the whole battle will be monitored." She explained to him. "I hope it goes well. Otherwise it's going to be embarrassing as hell if this fails..." Kor said, cracking his neck. "But, good thing I brought some extra 'insurance'." Kor said before taking out his rocket launcher.

Everyone else became shocked. "Where did you get that?!" Tails asked. "Bought from my world some time ago. Don't worry I won't aim it at someone, maybe..." He said with a devious grin on his face. "Kor please put that away. You probably won't need to use it." Sally said. "Aw come on. Those walls look pretty thick and I could help blast a hole open." Kor whined. "...Fine but I hope you have good aim." "Pff, don't worry yourself princess. These rockets have so little splash that you stand 3 feet from the blast and not be hurt."

Sally shook her head before helping Julie-Su and Nicole set up the broadcast. Back in New Mobotropolis, the citizens had gathered in the coliseum where several large monitors were set up in a fashion so that everyone present could watch. King Elias addressed the people as they continued to enter. "People of New Mobotropolis! Yesterday, the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix have initiated an attack on the Eggman Empire, one that we hope will be our final assault against the tyranical doctor!" Some of the audience cheered. "If all goes well, we will finally be able to put this evil man behind bars! As you can see, monitors have been placed throughout the building, so we may watch as this mission unfolds. Let us give all of our support, to the heroes of freedom!"

The roar from the audience was almost defeaning. Within a few minutes, Sally and Julie-Su synced with Nicole before the whole group continued on. Kor destroyed all his sentries before they left. This time, they were going for the Eggdome itself.

**-Inside the Eggdome-**

"Hurry up legionnaires! We need every piece of metal we can grab for this barricade!" Lien-Da commanded. "Ugh...what's the point of this plan? I can see this barricade holding back the Freedom Fighters, but why have a hole to let _Sonic_ of all people through?..." She said to no one in particular. "Be as it may, we have a plan to follow. If it succeeds, the heroes will be _his_ problem." Dimitri said as he floated nearby. He was surveying the build up of the wall. "I still don't think this is a good plan grandfather. And I don't trust this 'Regina' person Snively discussed with us. We barely know anything about her." The red echidna stated, folding her arms. "I'm well aware of that. But unfortunately we aren't in a position to have a say in the matter. Just do as they say and we may actually benefit from this." The cyborg said with a smirk growing.

**-Outside-**

"Ugh! This thing is tougher than I thought! It's gonna take us forever to make a huge dent in this.." Mighty said, hammering the wall of the Eggdome with his fists. "Yer tellin' me. My hand's startin' to hurt..." Bunnie said.

Both of them had been hitting the side of the Eggdome for a few minutes, after the heroes realized it would be too thick for Sonic to just spindash through it. Right now they were trying to make a dent big enough for Kor and his robot to blast a hole through. After another minute, they made a noticably sized dent in the metal. "Think that's good enough?" Mighty asked. "Should be. Kor, do your thing." Sally said. Kor grinned and aimed his rocket launcher at the hole. His drone locked up the hole for a missile shot. Both of them fired at the same time, the impact creating dust and debris that made everyone shield their eyes. Once the dust settled, they saw they now had an entrance to the fortress.

Sonic slipped through the opening, ready to take on any legionnaires he saw, but to his surprise he found none. "Huh. No one's here. They must've headed deeper in." Sonic told the others. As everyone else headed in, Kor stayed outside for a minute. "Looks like we got this covered. Killer, I want you to head back home. I'll fix ya up when we get back." The gunship whined in response. "I know I know, you want in on this too. But you can't really fit in the hallways, plus you're low on ammo and I don't want you to be defenseless. Just go back and I'll restock ya later." Hornet sighed before spreading its wings and took off.

Once inside, the 2 groups took note of the many corridors the base had. "This place is massive, but if I remember correctly these pathways all meet up at some point." Sonic said. "Right. We'll split up to cover more ground, and drive out any legionnaires we see." Sally said. "Kinda hate corridors. Just sayin', you'll learn to hate it when something unfriendly suddenly pops around the corner..." Kor said.

The Freedom Fighters and Chaotix took note of that and split off in different directions. Everyone was wary of being in their enemy's lair, knowing anything could show up to attack them. Bunnie, Kor, and Antoine had their weapons at the ready while everyone else kept their guards up. The Chaotix followed a similar approach. Fortunately, the unnerving silence was ended when both groups began to come across more and more legionnaires as they trekked deeper into the base. They managed to subdue any that were in their way thankfully. Eventually, the Chaotix came across a door, with none other than Dimitri blocking it.

**-Snively's Living Quarters-**

"Sir, the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix have infiltrated the base. They've separated from into 2 groups for the time being, but their getting close to the barricade we set up." Lien-Da told him. She then caught a rather fowl smell, to her that is, that was lingering in the room. "Ugh...are you wearing colonge?!" She asked, covering her nose in disgust. **"**It was a gift from her region of the world. Quite the scent, isn't it?" Lien-Da just frowned at him. "You could say that. Your nose is bigger than mine, how can you stand it?" Snively sighed. "Hmph. Yet one more thing you animals will never understand about my kind. Anyway, have the Legion begin Phase 2."

**-Back with the Chaotix-**

"Move that glass head of yours Dimitri before I make you!" Knuckles told him. "Such harsh words nephew. Did you forget you are one of my few remaining relatives? You even saved me from an unfortunate demise once. Even after all that, would you really be willing to move me if I don't myself?" "Yes..." Knuckles said bluntly. "Mmm...Edmund's convictions still live on in you. Very well then." The cyborg said before floating past the group. "I wish you and your friends luck, Guardian."

**-With the Freedom Fighters-**

While the Chaotix had a peaceful confrontation, the FF had the opposite. Right now they were pinned down behind two walls by a barrage of laser fire from the Legion. Bunnie retaliates with a few laser blasts of her own while Kor decides to send a few rockets in their direction, hoping to scatter them. However their assault is relentless. "Got any ideas Sally? We can't hold here forever!" Rotor asks over the noise. "I'm thinking of one!...If Kor and Bunnie can provide some cover fire long enough to scatter them, then Tails can-"

Before she could finish, Sonic cuts her off. "Uh, Sal? They've stopped." "Stopped? Why would they cease firing all of a sudden?" "Maybe because they're gone?" Sonic points out. Indeed, as sudden as the attack came, it ended and the Legion was nowhere to be found. "Maybe we scared them off." Tails said. "No offense but I seriously doubt that." Kor replied. "They had us on the ropes, wonder what made them fall back?..." Bunnie said.

The heroes continued cautiously through the hallway incase of another ambush. Suddenly, a door opens nearby. Both Kor and Bunnie take aim, but then are relieved to see the Chaotix. "Phew, almost sent one right at you guys." Kor said sheepishly. "What happened to you all?" Knuckles asked. "Dark Legion ambushed us. They held us up for a bit then all of a sudden they vanished." Sally told him. "Vell, it looks like zey disappeared behind zis wall here." Antoine said.

Both groups walked over to where he was and noticed a makeshift barricade, made of crude metal probably found throughout the base. "Ah really hope we don't have to tear this one down too..." Bunnie sighed. "Maybe we won't have to. Look there, a hole in the wall." Julie-Su pointed. Indeed there was a small hole in the defensive wall, but it sounded too good to be true. "That's gotta be a trap. I mean who leaves a hole in a barricade?" Kor said. "Probably so they could run through it quicker. In any case, I'm gonna go on alone for this." Sonic said. "Sonic I wouldn't suggest that. It's too risky..." Sally said. "Come on Sal, this is _Sonic the Hedgehog_ you're talking to. Anything the Legion can dish out I can deal with." The blue blur said with his signature smirk.

After some thought, she reluctantly agrees. "Alright, but be careful Sonic. It might take us awhile to find another way around." Sally told him. "You know me Sal, I'm _always_ careful." He said. After the others bid him good luck, he slips through the hole. To his surprise, he finds Dark Legion soldiers standing in column saluting him. "Heh, this is new." He continues past them and enters a relatively small chamber. However, the second he does, the door slams shut.

Sonic looks behind him, not really surprised by this. "This is the end of it rodent! You won't make it out of this room alive!" Sonic looks up and sees Eggman in a newly built robot. It is a red colored robot with a checkered pattern on its abdomen and legs that closely resembles a spider, preferrably a tarantula, hence the name. Sonic grins at his old foe. "Big words, big man! Let's go!" The 2 long standing opponents then begin their 'final battle.'

**-Just outside the chamber-**

The group waits for a minute, not hearing any sounds of fighting. "Maybe there's nothing back there after all." Vector says. "Possibly. Still we need a better view than just a small hole to make judgement." Espio points out. "Not a problem. I'll just blast the hole to make it larger. This barricade doesn't look as strong so it'll take a few hits." Kor said.

With that, he blasts 3 rockets at the whole, blowing a wider opening. However, when the smoke clears, everyone sees more Dark Legion troops pointing their laser guns at them. "Ah hell..." Kor mutters before they open fire.

**-Back in the chamber-**

Sonic and Eggman continue their fight, Eggman sending waves of attacks at Sonic while the hedgehog effortlessly dodges. While they fight, they continue to exchange dialogue. "You've been a thorn in my side for _15 years_ hedgehog, but that ends today!" "Says the one whose really prickled right now." Sonic says with a smirk, dodging a swing from the robot's legs. "Don't sass me boy! I am the most brilliant mind in the history of the world!" "If you say so." Sonic shrugs.

He moves quick as more missiles are launched at him. "My word is law! I conquered the WHOLE planet! Remember that derilect city of yours called Mobotropolis? It fell to my hands within _minutes_!" Eggman tells him. "Oh I remember Eggman. I was five when you did that." Sonic says as he boosts, the missiles behind him falling short of their target. "Good, and remember my ultimate victory as I ground you pathetic excuse for a mobian into the ashes of Knothole?" The evil doctor says with a grin, continuing to shoot at Sonic with a barrage of lasers and missiles.

"I'll admit that was impressive Doc, but you're forgetting a few key points, like the fact us Freedom Fighters took our city back!" Sonic boasts. "I eventually came back to drive you vermin away!" Eggman retorts. "Please Doc, that was like a month tops before Mobotropolis was destroyed by Station Square. Besides, we live in New Mobotropolis now." Sonic says, still avoiding his attacks. "Grr! Shut up!" "On that note, your so-called 'Eggman Empire' isn't even finished yet!" "Yes it is! You pests are nothing but specks on the windshield to me!" The doctor growls in anger. "Face it Egghead, you're lying to yourself. Even the United Federation has half a dozen city states in it." The blue hedgehog points out. He would have attacked by now if it weren't for the Egg Tarantula's unending barrage.

"Every day there are Freedom Fighter groups fighting against your rule, and come to think of it, you aren't too popular with your henchmen either!" Sonic says with a taunt. He runs up a wall with Eggman's attacks still falling short. " You can't claim to control the planet if you're fighting for it every waking hour. I'll give you credit for beating me fair and square not too long ago, but how many badniks have I stomped? How many times have I sent you packing?" He then jumps from the wall as more missiles detonate behind him, landing on Eggman's cockpit. "I've beaten you many times before, and I'll do it again." Sonic proclaims proudly.

At this point, Eggman is infuriated. He'll be damned if he lets his sworn enemy mock him _and_ win. "You're just a boy!" He presses a button, causing a grappling hook to shoot from the rear of the tarantula. It ascends upward and Eggman makes it spin, causing Sonic to jump off. " The games are over Sonic! We're going to end it all right here, right now! You can only beat the averages before you could even hope to beat me!" Sonic lands on his feet, looking up at the doctor. "End it huh? Don't mind if I do!"

He jumps back up to the robot, which is now on the ceiling, jumping on each of the legs as they swing at him. He manages to cut the rope from the grappling hook, but then gets hit by one of the robot's legs. However, he notices a crucial joint in the legs, and quickly recoveres by going into a spin dash. Unfortunately, Eggman jumps from the ceiling and blocks his attack. "I won't let you do that!" Both opponents land on the floor. _"Guess ol' Eggy wants to do things the hard way. I better end this."_ Sonic thinks to himself before running up the wall. "Catch me if you can Eggman!" "Blasted maniac perpetually moving animal..." The doctor mutters to himself before following.

With Eggman close behind him, Sonic then jumps from the wall, surprising the doctor. He then performs a homing attack on the robots abdomen, causing it to lose its grip and fall. "Grr! Stop!" Eggman commands. He watches to his own horror as Sonic spin dashes half the robot's legs off. It makes on ungracious landing while Sonic lands on his feet. "Ready to surrender yet?" Sonic asks. "No! I! Can't! Lose!" Eggman shouts defiantly, sending more laser fire at the hedgehog. "I thought so..." Sonic mutters, shaking his head. He boosts agains to avoid being blasted, approaching the robot. "Grr! No! Stay back!" Eggman pleads. His pleas fall on deaf ears as Sonic begins to tear the robot to pieces using a series of spin dashes. "No!" Sonic tears off the mantibles. "Noo!" He then breaks through the abdomen. "NOOOOOO!" He finally cuts the robot in half and shreds what is left to pieces. Eggman is then catpulted from the mech as it explodes, yelling, "**I! HATE! THAT! HEDGEHOG!**"

**A/N: And that's all for now. Once again Eggman has been beaten, and probably lost what was left of his sanity. The other heroes are still dealing with the Dark Legion but they'll pass them soon enough.**

**Anyway, as for my two ideas, I'll make a prequal and a sequal to this story. Of course the prequal will show events leading up to this story, and the sequal will take place post Super-Genesis Wave. I got some changes to my character on what he does in that time but I won't disclose those for now. Also I'm considering an alternate version of this story where Kor never met the Freedom Fighters and instead ended up in the Dragon Kingdom. Of course, I won't be doing those until this story is done, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Though, pardon the fact some of it is unoriginal but thought it'd be good to add to the story.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Welcome to another episode of Practical Problems! Last chapter, the heroes have won! With Eggman finally defeated, the heroes can now rest easy...or can they? There's still the subject of 'Regina' Snively mentioned. Time will tell people. Time will tell.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega or Archie Comics except my OC.**

**-Outside the chamber-**

While Sonic and Eggman were battling one-to-one, the rest of the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix were battling six-to-one odds. The soldiers were well defended and constantly shooting an endless barrage of fire at the heroes, forcing them to take cover on the opposite side of the barricade. "How did Sonic pass through just fine, yet we get the unwelcome wagon?!" Vector shouted. "He must've been captured...we gotta find a way around them!" Mighty said. "We didn't hear any signs of fighting shortly after he went in!" Kor said. He looks through the hole and notices a large door alittle behind the soldiers. "There's a large door back there! Wonder what they're protectin' so bad?!"

"Sally! Got any plans?" Bunnie asked. "You know that idea I had before the Legion fled? Sounds like a good time to try it now!" Sally told her. "Kor! Bunnie! One the count of 3, I want you both to fire at the same time to scatter them." Both of them nodded and took position on opposite sides of the wall. Bunnie charged her arm cannon while Kor loaded his launcher. "We better make this count. Only got 6 rockets left." Kor said to Bunnie. "Right." She nodded. "On 3. 1...2...3!" One the third number, Kor and Bunnie fired their weapons at the Legion. Bunnie shoots several laser blasts and Kor empties all 4 rockets from the launcher's clip. The Legion soldiers take cover in adjacent hallways or rubble to avoid the attacks. "Now Tails!" Sally yelled.

Right on cue, Tails tosses a few neutralizing mines to disable half of the battalion's weapons. "Didn't hit them all but it should be enough." Tails told them. "Everyone! Charge!" The group bursts through the barricade and began their battle with the Legion. Those without weapons disabled flee in terror while everyone else still armed engage the heroes. Knuckles, Mighty, and Vector gave fierce punches to the legionnaires when they got close, Espio used his natural abilities to blend into the environment, dispatching a few more legionnaires while Julie-Su used her blaster and combat skills to deal with any soldiers she came across. Charmy and Saffron annoyed the others, keeping them distracted so the less combat oriented heroes could subdue them easier.

The Freedom Fighters used their hand-to-hand combat skills to take out what was left of the battalion. Any soldier that was still conscious had fled. Once they made sure their enemies were knocked out, the heroes regrouped at the door. There were sounds of fighting coming from behind it. "What do you think's behind it?" Charmy asked. "I hope it's not another 'surprise'..." Kor said. "Ooh! I like surprises!" "Not that kind of surprise Charmy..." Vector sighed. "Well, we're going to find out one way or another, and given by the sounds of battle I think Sonic went in there...think you two can pull it open?" Sally gestured to Bunnie and Mighty. Mighty cracked his knuckles. "Not a problem." "Sure thing Sal." Bunnie said. "Wanna lend a hand Kor?" "Um, I don't think this hand can give out much physical strength, sorry." He said, scratching his head.

After a couple minutes of bending metal, it was opened just enough to let the heroes in. When they entered, they were met by a disturbing scene. While it seemed that Sonic had won the battle against Eggman, the doctor himself was shaking violently, babbling nonsense, and ripping off the hairs of his moustache. "Sonic...what did you do to him?" Sally asked. "I just beat him like always...then he started to flip out..." "You didn't just beat him this time Sonic, you _broke_ him." The heroes turned to the direction of the voice and saw Snively walk in through another door.

"Eccentrics aside, he really is a genius. He could build the most amazing things and plot a hundred steps ahead. Even the world fell to his brilliance in a few short years. Yet...all the building, calculating, and planning in the world couldn't beat you and that it's been gnawing at his mind for over a decade now. He took his latest defeat at New Mobotropolis very hard, and he's been losing his sanity for the past few days. All it took was one more defeat from Sonic to finally make him snap." The short overlander explained.

"Huh, I see what you mean, although this is ironic." Kor said, causing everyone to look at him. "Remember back when Eggman burned Knothole to the ground? It sounded like at the time he tried to break Sonic physically and mentally, yet Sonic never broke down and we rescued everyone. It's ironic that, in the end, Sonic was the one who broke him, though inadvertently." The red fox explained. "Hmm, it seems you're smarter than I took you credit for Mr. Kor." Snively said. "Thanks, I guess..."

"So..what now?" Sally asked. "Now? Now you leave me to care for my poor uncle. You may go home and celebrate. You've _won_." Snively said. Then, he had two soldiers carry the now insane doctor out of the chamber and leaves. It takes a minute for it to dawn on the heroes they've actually won. After fighting against Eggman's reign of terror for over a decade, they've finally put an end to his schemes. Once it does click in their heads, the heroes cheer loudly. "Had I known this would happen I would've asked you to save us some action Sonic." Knuckles says, patting the blue blur on the shoulder. "Heh, it was nothin' Knux." He says with his usual grin. "Once again the blue blur wins. Although I feel alittle sorry for that Egghead, he pretty much deserved it." Kor says. While everyone is giving Sonic their congrats, Sally talks to Nicole. "Did you catch all that Nicole?" "Yes, and so did everyone. People are already dancing in the streets!" She says with a wide smile.

As the heroes walked out of the Eggdome, Sonic explained to Tails and Amy what went on in the battle. However, he started to become a little disheartened, and he had a lot on his mind right now. Sally noticed this and asked the two to help Rotor find their ride while she talked with him. "You gonna be ok Blue?" "Yeah...it's just that I didn't think it'd end like this. I didn't know what to expect, and I don't know what I'm gonna do now." "Don't worry about it Sonic. Finding what's next is an adventure in itself. Plus, fulfilling your 'duty' and moving on can be a good thing." Sonic smiled. "Yeah. Guess you're right. Thanks Sal." "Anytime Blue. Anytime."

Shortly after, everyone headed home. Amy blew a kiss to Sonic, Charmy and Saffron were having a conversation, Ray and Mighty slapped a high five, Vector and Tails shouted in victory, Knuckles and Julie-Su kissed in the back, Antoine waved his sword in victory while Bunnie flew along side, Rotor was driving, Espio was sitting calmly, Sally felt the wind in her hair, and Kor shot lasers into the air from his hand while cheering. He looked back at the wrecked city, and noticed something floating in the air. He made his eyes zoom in and spotted what looked to be some sort of chinese-looking blimp. _"What's that thing doing there?...Eh, it's probably nothin'." _He thought to himself.

**-Inside the Eggdome-**

Eggman, still muttering nonsense, was now sitting in a padded room wearing a straitjacket. "Uthahea...hedgehog...ehahye" "Now now uncle don't worry, the big bad mobians are gone. Oh, and don't worry about the Empire. I've found someone who can handle the job, and we'll be happily ruling together! So just sit back let your nephew take the reigns." He says with an evil grin before shutting the door.

Minutes later, the bald overlander makes his way to the top of the Eggdome, just in time to watch as a large blimp makes a landing. Dimitri is also there to make sure the Legion handles this with precision, and to meet his new benefactor. "You do realize I've risked a lot in siding with you on this matter..." Dimitri tells him. "Save your threats Dimitri. I assure you, your choice in loyalty will be rewarded." Once the derigable landed, various beings stepped out. One faction were bats dressed in ninja outfits, another was an orange lynx dressed in a purple gi-like outfit wearing a conical straw hat, but towering above them was a ox clad in silver armor weilding a large mallet-like hammer along with an overlander wearing a red dress/robe with pointed black stripes with a golden headress on her head. She also weilded a large gold staff with an orb at the center.

"Dark Legion, meet your new masters: The Iron King and Queen!" Snively announced.

**-A couple hours later: New Mobotropolis-**

When the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix arrived at the city, they were greeted to a hero's welcome. People congradulated them left and right and some even paraded with them, holding them up high as they all cheered. It was a very joyous occasion, and even the Forget Me Knots, Mina's band renamed in memory of the destroyed village of Knothole, were hosting a concert later in the day. All the attention was starting to make Kor blush. He was rarely called a hero, but sure did gain some fans given everyone watched the broadcast. He managed to slip away from everyone long enough to make it to his house.

"Yeesh...I don't think I'm gonna get used to this kind of attention..." He sighed. However, he thought back to the battle he and rest of the Freedom Fighters went through against the Legion. To be frank, it did bother him that they had been suppressed for minutes at a time without having enough firepower to easily change the tide, and but like Sally and the others have told him: they don't really resort to guns. Not that anything was wrong with it, but sometimes the best way to solve a problem was to use a gun, at least in Kor's basic engineer jargon. Sure he had his rocket launcher, but it didn't have any stand-off suppression fire his sentries would have.

"Hmm...all my sentries would've been good in that battle, but I can't be lugging around a tool box all the time, it'll slow me down and make me an easier target. Plus, it'd be a hassle trying to move the sentry all the time, unless..." A lightbulb turned on in his head, and he smacked his forehead for being stupid. "Duh! It's so simple. Instead of moving the sentry, the sentry could move itself! But, I can't use the old model sentries...they're too fragile." He said to himself. In the past days during the Gravel War, the sentries built back then could easily be destroyed by soldier rockets, demoman pipebombs, and even bullets from a simple pistol. Kor decided he would need to built a better armored sentry if it wanted to even have a chance to do its job.

He grabbed a stack of blueprints from a nearby drawer and began to sketch out his idea. It wasn't even 20 minutes later that someone came knocking at his door. "Yo Kor! You in there?!" It was Sonic. "Yeah! Come in." Sonic entered with Tails right behind him. "Dude, why are you in your house? Shouldn't you be with us celebrating?" The hedgehog asked. "I would, but I'm not exactly used to that kind of attention like you guys are." Kor replied, still drawing. "Soooo what are you up to?" Tails asked, lookng over his shoulder. "Designing a new, mobile sentry. Had been thinkin' about our last battle and I thought it would be helpful if I brung somethin' that would give us an edge."

"Would we even need something like that? Eggman's finally given up...sorta...but I doubt we'll see many battles at this point." Sonic told him. He was still a little shaken at how Eggman broke down in front of him. "Maybe so Sonic, but in the world we live in, anything can happen, so as some would say, better safe than sorry." "True...so what do you think of when you see Nicole?" Sonic asked with a grin. The sudden question made Kor accidentally break his pencil. He turned in his chair. "W-What do you mean by that?"

"Oh come now Mr. Fixit, we know how you two had been spending time with each other even if you guys weren't planning something." He pressed. "And? We're close friends." "Might be getting closer than just 'friends'." Tails chuckled. "Oh please. You two wouldn't know anything about it." "Sally told me what you guys were doing before Miles came, and given that you told us you two built that awesome robot of yours AND she built you replacement eyes, you can't tell me you haven't formed some attraction to her." Sonic explained with a smug look on his face.

Kor looked at him with a glare before sighing. "Alright...I do like her to a degree. It was something I didn't expect but over the past 5 months we got to know each other more. She understands me pretty well and I to her, though I'm just not sure if it'd work out." "What do you mean?" "Well, she's a highly advanced computer and I'm a mobian. Although she can project a holographic form, she can't keep it for long if something happens. I never told you guys this, but I promised at some point I would make her a real body..." Both Sonic and Tails went wide-eyed at that. "Is that even possible? Last time she switched bodies with Sally-" Tails started but Kor cut him off.

"It is. Back where I come from there was a system called respawn." Kor then explained to the two what it did, how he should've been dead already if it weren't for that machine, and how it could give Nicole a chance at actually living. "Huh. Sounds like alot of work. Think we can help with that?" Sonic asked. "For another time. With our odd schedules even I don't have time to make arrangements. And I hope Nicole hadn't heard what I told you guys...given that she's literally everywhere here..." "Why's that?" Tails asked. "I...don't know how to tell her my feelings..."

"Ah don't sweat it Kor. One of these days you'll find the courage for it. If Ant can propose to Bunnie then you can tell her how you feel. Besides, if you can handle getting shot at, you can totally handle this. Trust me, Sal and I used to date and I felt the same way you do right now." Sonic explained. "True. Thanks you guys." "Anytime." They both said. "Speaking of which, I should find Nicole. I promised to teach her something." "Like what?" Tails asked. "You'll see." Kor said, putting his half-finished blueprint away before heading outside. Little did they know, Nicole had heard everything, and a blush had pixelated on her face once more.

**-Minutes later-**

"Are you sure this a good idea Kor?" Nicole asked. "Don't worry Nicky. I've built these plenty of times to know how they work, inside and out." They were standing next to a red-colored standard Mann Co. licensed sentry gun, the one both RED and BLU engineers used daily during the Gravel Wars. Sonic, Tails, and Sally were watching nearby. "Being that you're an advanced computer, I know you already know how to keep digital intruders out, but physical intruders take a different step to keeping them out. Shields are fine an' all but you gotta have something more than that to dissuade attackers, hence the sentries I built. So, we'll start small with this ol' thing." He smiled, patting the sentry as it continued to do a mindless scan of the area. "True...I've just never had to fire anything before." Nicole said, staring off to the side. "That's why I'll walk ya through it. Ready?" He asked. She nods before touching the sentry, her holographic form dissapating.

Nicole shuffled about inside the inner mainframe of the sentry. She came across some files and open them, viewing target protocols, scanning techniques, the range of the gun, etc. It didn't take her long to figure out the inner workings of the machine, and within a couple minutes, she assumed control of the turret. She could see the world through the sentry's main scanner and looked around. Kor looked at the level 1 sentry as it stopped its usual scanning and turned its turret in random directions, looking at the space around it. He found it to be rather cute.

"Ya done lookin' around yet?" He chuckled as the turret moved its gun nozzle up and down. The turret looked at him, and his surprise, it spoke. "Yes. Was just getting used to being in something like this." Kor stared at the turret for a minute. "Something wrong?" It said, tilting its head slightly. "Well, no. Just didn't think you'd actually make it talk." "Well I am an _advanced computer_." "True. Now I set up a target board that's about 10 feet over there. Think you can hit it?" "I'll try." Nicole said through the sentry.

Normally when someone first fires a gun, they may get thrown by the recoil. This was one of those times, as when Nicole fired, the head of the sentry flipped backward, surprising her. Everyone else couldn't help but laugh. She continued to swing the turret to and fro until Kor straightened it out. "Relax Nicole. That's just how people react when they first shoot." "I guess...but I didn't find it funny!" Nicole said, looking at the others. They held innocent grins on their face to try to contain their laughter.

"Just don't worry about it. Plus, you hit the bullseye." The fox said, pointing at the target. Indeed, there was a bullet hole in the center. "Wow..I can't believe I actually managed that." "Yeah, though lets work on you getting used to the recoil first."

For the next few minutes Kor trained Nicole on how to shoot. The longer she got used to firing, the better she could control the effects of the knockback given from shooting. With that, Kor tapped the sentry twice and upgraded it to level 2. This time, Nicole was sporting twin automatic gatling guns. Like the first time, she had to get used to the recoil first before making good hits on the board. By now the target board was replaced due to too many holes in the first. "Think you've got the hang of it now Nicole?" "Yes, though I'm curious. It says in here there's a third level to this machine." "Yeah, that one has a rocket battery in the back." "Can we try it out?" Kor shrugged. "If you can handle it."

He hit the sentry twice, making more exterior legs sprout from behind and the main casing in the back flipping down to allow the rocket battery to come out, the sentry's height increasing slightly. "Now remember Nicky, rockets travel slower than bullets but have a lot of kick to them." The sentry nodded before taking aim and firing. As the rockets left the battery, she almost felt the entire sentry tip backwards, but thanks to the extra stabilizers it prevented her from falling over. The rockets impacted the board, blowing the top portion off. After a couple more shots, she obliterated the bullseye with bullets and rockets from the sentry. Now that she had some experience with firing a weapon, she stored the collected data into her memory banks for later use, as well as if she needed to maintain control of another weapon.

"Heh, looks like ya finally got the hang of it Nicole. Nice job." He patted the sentry with a smile. "Thank you Kor. Although I somewhat doubt I'll use a firearm, the data I got should come in handy later." The A.I. said before exiting the sentry's system. She materialized into her holographic form next to everyone else, and seconds later the sentry was running on its own accord again. "You know, it was actually interesting watching that sentry in action." Tails said. "Well, it's nice to look at, so long as its not pointed at you." Kor chuckled. "Now I know what would happen to someone if they were in front of it..." Nicole said, a chill proccessing down her spine. "To be honest I'm not entirely comfortable with Nicole experiencing this, but if it does prove helpful later..." Kor gave a small laugh. "Don't worry about it. Despite these things being absolute killers, they're rather fragile."

"Yeah. Back on Moebius I ran into some built by your faker. They were easier to put down than Eggman's robots." Sonic told them. He then looked at the sky and noticed the sun was nearly set. "Shoot. We got a concert to attend! See ya there!" He said before running off, leaving a streak behind him. "Wait up Sonic!" Tails shouted, flying after his brother. Kor shook his head. "I still ain't used to bein' called a hero." "Weren't you one back in your world Kor?" Sally asked. "Nope. If anythin' we were mostly called idiots, murderers, psychopaths, and the like, especially in this town called Teufort." "I see...but make no mistake Kor. No one will dare call you that after today, especially since you helped us take down Eggman. Besides, you gained some fans recently." Sally said with a smile. "To be honest, I try to not remember that." Kor said with a nervous smile.

A minute later, Sally and Kor meet up with the others at the coliseum before splitting off. Sally escort Sonic to their seats, but as she does she notices a troubled look on the hedgehog's face. "You ok Sonic?" "Not really...I feel as though I went a little too far when battling Eggman earlier, with him losing his mind and all..." "Well, maybe hearing Mina sing will put you in better spirits." "Hopefully..."

"HELLO NEW MOBOTROPOLIS! ARE YOU READY?!" Mina shouted into the mic, prompting the crowd to cheer. "This song goes to all the brave heroes, who gave their all in finally defeating Eggman! May we now live on in peace!" She shouted once more. However, just as the band was about to begin, the stage was suddenly struck by lightning, throwing the Songoose off her feet. Everyone looked up to where it came, especially no adverse weather was scheduled that night. What they see instead, is a brown-furred monkey wearing a red and turqouise vest/coat that split half-way down at the back along with a crown on his head. He was also holding some sort of golden staff that crackled with lightning at the tips. The weirdest thing, however, was that he was floating on a _cloud_.

"Uh, Tails? Any idea who that is?" Kor asked. "That's Ken Khan! He's from the Dragon Kingdom!" "Dragon Kingdom?" "Somewhere in the Far East." "Oh so like China and Japan." Kor said. "What places are those?" Tails asked. "Not important right now." The red fox said, getting his laser gun ready.

**A/N: And that's the end of this chapter. So, Iron Dominion has taken over the Eggman Empire, and Ken just ruined a perfectly good concert! Someone's gonna want their money back! So what is Ken's reason for being here? And what does the Iron Dominion plan to do now? Tune in next time to find out.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: After a long time editing my mess when I first started writing this story, it's time for chapter 19! Celebrations for defeating the Eggman Empire were cut short as a monkey known as Ken Khan arrives just as a concert was about to begin. What is his reason for interrupting this joyous celebration, and what could it spell for the heroes? Let's see.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega or Archie Comics except my OC.**

"What kind of lazy, self-congratulatory jerks revel when the rest of the world suffers? Where are these so-called 'heroes' of Mobius?! I want you to look me in the eye and tell me why you're so great!" Ken yells to the crowd. "I'll show ya why we're so great!" Sonic yells back, going into a spin dash. "You just crashed a good party you know!" Ken glares at the hedgehog before rushing to meet him head on. However, before they make physical contact, Sally jumps in-between them. "STOP!" Both of them come to a halt just inches from colliding.

"While I do agree with Sonic that the celebration was rudely interrupted, we have a good reason to do so. Recently, he finally managed to defeat Eggman once and for all, and now the Eggman Empire is no more." The rest of the Freedom Fighters join them on stage at this point. However, Ken shakes his head, calming himself before explaining. "That is where you're wrong princess...the Eggman Empire was never defeated, they merely had a change in leadership." He stated. "Riiight, so whose calling the shots now?" Sonic asked. "They refer to themselves as the 'Iron Dominion'. They've taken control of the Dragon Kingdom over the years and simply moved their seat of power to the Eggman Empire after it was vacated by the evil doctor himself. Although I do applaud you for defeating Eggman, the Iron Dominion is still a very real threat..." He finished.

Elias, who overheard the conversation, calls to Antoine. "Antoine, see if you can gather the rest of the Council. We need to decide on this matter immediately!" The coyote nods but Ken stops them. "That won't be necessary your highness. I don't believe your so-called 'Council' has been handling things properly..." The monkey said bitterly. "Not the only one who thinks that..." Kor muttered. "Aw come on Monkey Boy! They can't be that tough!" Sonic says with a grin. "We also might be able to get some help from the Dragon Kingdom Freedom Fighters." Sally adds.

However, Ken lowers his head at the mention of them. "There...aren't any Freedom Fighters in the Dragon Kingdom anymore..." He says hesitantly. "All of them were wiped out?" Kor asks, to which the monkey nods. "...Sorry for your loss, but whose the big boss in this 'Iron Dominion'?" The fox asks. "They refer to themselves as the Iron King and Queen. The King possesses incredible strength that would make even the fiercest of enemies quiver, and the Queen is a mage in for form of Magitek." Ken said. Kor was about to ask what 'magitek' was but Sonic spoke before him. "Wait, aren't those the same jokers we dealt with when me and Tails stopped by?" Sonic asksed, to which Ken simply nods. "Indeed they are. Despite their defeat, they've grown considerably in power since..."

"Well, why don't we head over to New Megaopolis and show those Iron Losers how we handle things here?" Sonic said with his signature smirk. "I would gladly appreciate that." Ken said with his own grin. "Now hold on Sonic. These guys can't be just mere pushovers if they've caused this much trouble..." Sally pointed out. "Come on Sal. We've dealt with these guys before like a year ago. So what if they have an army? We've dealt with the same thing when it came to Eggman. Only difference is they don't have any robots to hide behind." He pointed out.

Sally looked at the blue blur for a minute before looking at the floor in thought. After a couple minutes, she made her decision. "Alright, you two can go, but on ONE condition: You'll treat this as a recon mission, nothing more. We still don't know what they're capable of and I'd hate to see you both get captured or worse." She stated. "You're the best Sal!" Sonic said, already halfway out the coliseum with Ken in pursuit. "So what do we do now Sal?" Bunnie asked. "Nothing to do now but wait and prepare..." The chipmunk told her. "Welp, guess I'll head over to the airport. Hornet NEEDS some serious repairin'." Kor said. "Mind if I help?" Tails asked. "Sure little buddy." The red fox said with a smile.

After a minute of walking, the 2 foxes reach the hanger the Hornet resides in. Upon entering they immediately set out to get the gunship in top condition. Tails begins to reapply paint on its body while Kor restocks its weapons. It took about 20 minutes before they were finished. "Phew, that should do." Kor said. "You think we'll have to use it against the Dominion?" Tails asked. "If it comes down to it. From the way Ken spoke, it seems they heavily out-number us, but they can't be as bad as Eggman right?" "True." The kit chuckled. "However, I wonder what this 'magitek' thing Ken spoke of means." Kor said. "Maybe you can ask him when he returns. I don't remember much of it myself, but I can bet it's nothing good." Tails stated. "Well, that's just dandy..." The engineer sighed.

Afterwards, the two went their separate ways: Kor went back to his house while Tails went to assist the other Freedom Fighters if they needed it. The engineer sat back in his chair and looked over his half-done work. On the blueprint, it showed the first and second stages of a considerably larger sentry compared to the first one Kor ever used. On the blueprint, the main housing was comprised to have roughly 4in. of metal to protect it from small arms fire and rocket impacts. The top of the sentry was curved backward which might help deflect bullets, and the base of the sentry was much sturdier so it wouldn't flinch much when firing.

The first stage was similar to the regular sentries, using only a small semi-automatic cannon, but the second stage differed greatly. In this stage, both sides of the main housing push outward, allowing two bofors guns to deploy while bullet chains from the sentry's main compartment attach to them. The base also changed as well to accompany the potential recoil force from the guns. The third stage was incomplete, yet one could see the top of the sentry slides down to allow a rocket battery to come out the back. It also sported additional bofors gun on top of the ones already deployed, making the sentry look similar to a quad-mounted AA gun.

Kor continued drawing up the third stage's base. He wanted to put it on a sitting platform first before drawing up a movable one, which he considered using either wheels or treads. He also had to figure out how all of this would fit inside a toolbox he might have to carry, which would be a headache waiting to happen.

**-A hour later-**

Sonic and Ken return to the city, alittle bruised from their so-called 'recon' mission. They meet up with Sally, Knuckles, and Elias in the castle. "I thought I told you guys it was just a _recon_ mission..." Sally said, arms crossed while frowning at them both. "Well, it was until we got ambushed. Don't know how they knew we were coming, but we got smacked by ninja bats, the Dark Egg Legion, the Iron King, and surprisingly, _Espio_..." Sonic said the part with a heavy voice. "Wait, Espio's with them now?!" Knuckles said, shocked beyong belief. "Unfortunately he is. Espio is part of the Shinobi Clan, one of the 4 clans under the Dominion's control." Ken stated.

"But...I don't understand. There aren't any ninja clans from where he came from..." Knuckles said. "It would seem your 'friend' has lied to you about his origins..." Ken said, leaning against the wall. "Try not to worry too much on it Knuckles. I'll have everyone put on high alert and I'll get together with the Council immediately. It's clear the Iron Dominion has the means to attack our city...only thing that remains is _when_..." Elias said before departing.

Sally looks at Ken and notices his sad-ridden face. "You ok Ken?" "No...I'm not exactly pleased with myself after having been defeated many times by the Dominion..." "Try not to worry about that Ken. You have people to help you now, and once we sort out a plan we can make our move." Sally said, trying to comfort him. However, Ken shakes his head and walks off. "Some king I turned out to be..." He muttered to himself. Sally and Sonic watch him leave, concerned looks plastered on their faces.

**-Meanwhile at the Eggdome-**

Snively and Regina were currently chatting in the queen's bedroom. After witnessing the full might of their forces put the brakes on Sonic and Ken along with forcing them to retreat, they were very confident that it wouldn't take much to make New Mobotropolis fall into their grasp.

"In all my days as a dictator, I have never seen Sonic make a hasty retreat so soon." Snively said, sipping from a cup of tea they were having. "And it was twice as fun watching the 'pretender of the throne' wither at our might. They may have posed a formiable threat in the past, but now...now they shall learn the true of the Iron Dominion. And once we conquer that pitiful city of theirs, we can move from this dreadful dump..." Regina said. "Speaking of the past, what was your life like before you became the Iron Queen?"

Regina froze up a bit at the question. "That...is something I don't like to discuss...but because I love you sweetie I'll tell you." She pauses as she begins to reflect on the past. "I was born into a cult of Technomages located in the city of Mega Central some time before the Great War. While I was under their care, I learned how to control many robotic devices through the use of Magitek." "Magitek?" Snively asked.

"It's the mystical art of controlling electronic signals and impulses, which allows the user to simply gain control of almost anything electrical just by the flick of their hand. How powerful the art's influence depends on how powerful the user is. Anyway, I used magitek to my advantage over the years as a child, even being able to move robots to my will from afar, but unfortunately...things became rather hard for me years later. Just as te Great War begun, magitek was considered illegal and many members of the cult, including myself, were arrested...most were imprisoned or worse, but thankfully my young age allowed the High Chancellor to show mercy and left me leave on my own. I didn't know of any other technomage cults in other human cities, and I couldn't even reside with mobians with the war raging..." She pauses, glaring at the floor after remembering a certain incident. "...By then I realized I was the last member of my cult, so I set out to make the long forgotten art of magitek live on and eventuall dominate the world! At some point, I found myself in the Dragon Kingdom where I offered an alliance with Jun Kun. He was a local war lord at the time." Snively stiffled a laugh. "Was that oaf actually your _leader_?" "Oh heavens no! We were just partners." Regina corrected him.

"Once we were partners, I used my magic to awaken old machines found throughout the region and we used them in our conquest to conquer the entire region. Unfortunately...we suffered many defeats either from the warring clans or the free people...It wasn't until your first uncle had contacted us that we began to gain ground, using his machines and technology to control the free people. I even set Mount Stormtop ablaze for _100_ days since they refused to yield to our rule!" Regina laughed evily. Then, she formed a scowl on her face. "Then that blasted hedgehog and his sidekick showed up..." "What happened my dear?" Snively asked.

"I decided to control that fake king Monkey Khan and used him to fight Sonic. As amusing as it was, it was unfortunately short lived when that two-tailed brat damaged my beautiful staff! Being forced to retreat I was pursued. However, Kun managed to hold them off until Sonic found the Fan of Fen Xing. He defeated that idiot warlord and ended the spell I placed over the free people's village..." Regina explained, glaring at the floor. "Since then I swore revenge against that meddlesome hedgehog...and soon...I will achieve that!" She said with a grin.

"I'm sure you will my dear. Speaking of the Dragon Kingdom, I remember there were Freedom Fighters there, but they don't seem to be giving you any trouble." The bald overlander pointed out. "Oh dear Snively, that, is a funny story. Khan was part of the Freedom Fighter group there, but because he is a cyborg, he was susceptable to my magic." She said before grinning evilly. "As a result...I used him to wipe each and every one of them out...I couldn't have a sweeter revenge on that moronic monkey." She said with a laugh, Snively joining her. "That is truly evil Regina. Do you have a plan for the Freedom Fighters?" "That I do, but for another time. The hour grows late." She said, putting her cup down and showing the short man out.

**A/N: And that's all for this chapter. Took awhile to ring up due to lack of inspiration to write. With the Iron Dominion proving themselves to be a formiable foe, along with _Espio_ of all people being in their ranks, time will tell what will happen with the heroes.**

**Also, the main design for the sentry I intend for Kor to use is based on a sentry gun called 'The Mule' drawn by Elbagast on DeviantArt. It's actually a pretty impressive looking piece of work.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Welp, it's here, chapter 20! Bring out the fruit and funnel cake!...On second thought, screw the fruit cake but the funnel can stay. Anyway, thank you everyone who read through the chapters so far. I don't really ask for reviews much, even though I got 2, but getting tons of views is good enough. **

**Last chapter, the Iron Dominion has proven themselves to be a formidable force. If Sonic and Ken think that ambush in New Megaopolis was bad, the worst is yet to come.**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega or Archie except my OC.**

A day had passed since Sonic and Ken's recon mission. After getting the two patched up, the heroes were currently idling about the city. Knuckles had departed for Angel Island to keep watch over the master emerald. Word had spread to the rest of the heroes about Espio's betrayal, which put everyone on edge about their enemies. The only good thing about their situation was that the Dominion hadn't decided to attack yet. However, even if they did some of the citizens were sure their defensive measures would keep them safe.

At the moment, Ken was walking around the city. Despite Sally and Sonic's attempts to cheer him up, he still felt degraded due to suffering many defeats from the Dominion, especially since he was used for a certain purpose. Those thoughts were temporarily pushed away when a small rock hits his shoulder. "Take that you meanie!" A young voice said. Turning with an annoyed look on his face, the monkey saw a young tiger, bear, and cat hurling stones at him. However, they were cut short when Sonic arrived. "Hold it there kids. Why are you throwing rocks at my monkey friend here?"

"He ruined Ms. Mina's concert!" The bear cub replied. "Ok yeah that was rude of him, but it's also rude to throw stuff at strangers." Sonic retorted. "It's fine Sonic. It was truly my fault for that incident..." Ken said, before kneeling to the children's height. "I'm sorry I had ruined a joyous evening for you 3. You have my word of honor it won't happen again." He said with a smile before walking off. Sonic stared at the monkey before looking at the kids. "Alright you kids run along now. But If I hear about you throwing rocks again I'll let Rosie know." They nodded before running off.

Sonic ran up to Ken. "You doing alright monkey-boy? You've been rather distant lately." "I still have alot on my mind hedgehog...please go away..." "What was _that_? Where's your infamous temper monkey-king?" Sonic asked. At that the word 'king', Ken's face grew into a glare and he swung his atom-bat at Sonic, who easily avoided it. "How many times must I tell you NOT to call me that?! I've been through too many failures to even be worthy of that title! You have no idea what I've...what I've been forced to do back in the Dragon Kingdom..." He said as he cooled himself. "I get where you're coming from monkey-boy, but look at the bright side! At least the Dominion isn't attacking yet!" Sonic said with optimisim. However, as the universe's way of showing irony, Nicole suddenly materializes half-way in front of them. "Sonic! Ken! The Iron Queen and Snively are within the city's walls!"

Occassionally, the city's shield would be let down to let in fresh air, and since Eggman's downfall, everyone didn't have to worry about any air attacks. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the worst time to have it down. Both members of the Eggman Empire sitting in Egg Mobiles, gazing evilly at the mobian city. "So what do you think of this place my dear?" Snively asked. "Not too bad. It will make a nice capital for my Dominion after we clean out the vermin." Regina replied. They both suddenly hear a certain chipmunk shouting up to them. "You both are under arrest for crimes not only against this city, but for all you've done in the Dragon Kingdom! Surrender yourselves now or we will use force!" Sally shouted. The rest of the Freedom Fighters including Ken were with her.

Regina couldn't help but laugh. "Force? What kind of force could you Freedom Fighters possibly have?! I believe it is you who should surrender to us, before you suffer a humiliating defeat." She giggled. Sally sighed. "I thought she would take the hard way...Bunnie, Tails, bring them down." She ordered. The two nod before taking off toward their foes. However, half-way up to their targets, Bunnie notices her robotic limbs start to act strange. "Bunnie? You ok?" Tails asked. "I don't know, my legs and arm feel like their tryin' to move on their own!" Right as she finishes that sentence, she takes off full blast right towards the kit. "Look out!" Tails gasps and barely avoides getting socked by the cybernetic rabbit. Bunnie struggles to regain control of her limbs, but finds herself unable to. "Why won't they respond ta me?!"

"Because they are being controlled by me!" Regina states, holding her scepter high. The object itself is glowing with many charicatures around the orb. "You see, Magitek allows me to control anything made of metal that gives off an electronic signal, or in other words, most technology. You will have no free will over yourself unless I grant it. And since I'm aware another Freedom Fighter in your group also possesses cybernetics, I order you both to attack!" At those words, Bunnie dives at the other heroes while Kor's hand turns into its laser form on its own. "No no no no no!" Kor says as he tries to turn his hand off.

The rest of the heroes are forced to dodge their friends attacks. Kor's hand soon overuses its core and turns back, only for the engineer to be literally dragged across the ground in a comical fashion, trying to smack Sally. "Make it stop!..." He says in a muffled voice. Bunnie, to her horror, nearly hits Antoine but Sonic manages to steer her away. The hedgehog steers her into a nearby safehouse where her boosters finally cease. "Ok Bunnie, you should be safe in here until we can get 'her royal pain' out of here..." "Ah hope so...any more use and I'm gonna lose consciousness..." Unfortunately, Bunnie's arm cannon suddenly activates. "Run Sonic!"

The blue blur didn't need to be told twice as he moves away. Seconds later, the safe house was blown to pieces. Thankfully Bunnie emerged unharmed, but now she's flying around shooting laser blasts at everything. Due to constant use of her cybernetics, the poor rabbit was now on the verge of blacking out. "Aw, what's wrong my poor puppet? Surely you still have some fight left in you." Regina taunted her. As she readies to have Bunnie fire another shot, Ken suddenly appears before the two on a magic cloud and strikes at them with his atom-bat. "I've had enough of your manipulative ways Iron Queen!" He yells.

The sudden attack causes Regina to lose focus, forcing her to relinquish control on the two cybernetic mobians. Bunnie passes out on the ground while Kor dusts grass off his fur. His right arm was soar from being yanked all over the place. "You alright Kor?" Sally asked. "I'm fine...arm aches like hell though...I'm more worried about Bunnie." He replies as he looks over to their fallen friend. "Sonic, take Bunnie to Freedom HQ. Keep her safe." "Got it!" Sonic says before dashing off with Bunnie in his arms. "Kor, you need to make yourself scarce and hide somewhere in the city." "What about you guys? I can't just leave you to deal with this-" "It's better if you don't risk yourself being forced to fire at us. And that's an order..." Sally cut him off. The engineer sighed. "Alright...but I _really_ hate that bitch right now..." He said, gesturing to Regina as he departed.

Back in the air, Ken and Regina were clashing with their respective weapons. "You have no right to ruin the lives of these innocent people! I advise you retreat at once before I _make_ you!" Ken yelled at her. "Hah! Says the so-called 'king of the free people'. You're going to regret defying my rule, twice!" Regina retorted. As they continue to battle, Snively sneaks behind Ken and takes his crown. "Let's see how you fare without your precious crown monkey-boy!" He taunts. Ken's eyes widen in horror. Unknown to most, Ken is actually a cyborg. Robotic parts make up most of his internal structure, including parts of his brain. It only took seconds for Regina to bind her magic to him and make him her best puppet.

"Awaiting command, master..." The monkey said in a droned voice. "Make yourself useful and destroy the Freedom Fighters." She simply said. Ken nodded before going on the attack. Sally, Tails, and Antoine scrambled for cover as Ken used his atom-bat to cast lightning around the area. Whatever they hit left a scorched mark on the earth. "Ken please stop this! We're your friends remember?!" Tails begged. Instead, Ken goes after him, charging up another strike. Just before the young fox is hit, Sonic snatches him out of the way. "Don't worry buddy! I got ya!" "Thanks for the save Sonic!" Tails cheered.

"Sonic, what's the status on Bunnie?" Sally asked as she ran up to them. "Don't worry about her. She's just taking a nap at the HQ. What about monkey-boy here? I know he's got a huge temper problem but I didn't think he'd flip out like this." Sonic said. The 3 took cover behind a few trees as another lightning strike was casted at them. "Snively took his crown. Then she used the same magic she used on Bunnie and Kor, making him attack us!" Sally explained. "Maybe we can contain him like I tried with Bunnie. At least he doesn't have an arm cannon." The hedgehog said in thought. "Try not to hurt him too much Sonic. He's still our friend." "I'll try, as long as he doesn't fry me in the process!" He said before running into the open.

"Hey monkey-boy! I know you're a bit tense right now, but why don't you just cool off and count to 10 for a sec?" He asked. His response was the monkey diving at him to strike him with his bat. Sonic easily flips over the brain-washed simian. "Woah! Easy there Ken! What happened to be being friends? You could at least fire back a friendly banter!" He says with a smirk. "Don't waste your breath hedgehog. Khan's cybernetics are too extensive throughout his body to resist me. My control on him is absolute!" Regina boasted. "And I don't think he'll be needing this anymore." Snively said. He then snaps Ken's crown in two.

Shortly after, Mighty and Vector join the scene. Confused as to why Ken was attacking everyone, Tails quickly explained the situation to them, causing them to join the fray. Sonic regroups with Sally for the moment. "What's so special about his crown anyway? Did it have some magical properties to it or something?" He asked. "Hmm...I remember when we first met, Ken created his crown by making it a power ring headband. I think with it, he was able to resist the Queen's control." The chipmunk said in thought. "Great! So we just need another one. Think you guys can stall him while I go to the lake?" "We'll try." Sally said.

With that, Sonic jets off to the Lake of Rings. Ken tries to follow but Antoine cuts him off. "It would've been thoughtful if you had told us you were a liability you imbecile!" Antoine yells at him. The two clash with their weapons for a brief moment before Ken shocks him away. Sally then attempts to kick the monkey in his head but is swept off her feet by his atom-bat. Then, Vector, Mighty, and Tails attempt to hold him down. "Hah! I knew we wouldn't need Julie-Su's help for this! Get him Mighty!" The crocodile boasted. "Sorry Ken, but this is gonna hurt." However, before the armadillo could attack, Ken grows furious. "Tumultuous Thunderclap of the Enraged!" With that, he claps his hand together, sending a large shockwave in all directions. This causes the 3 to be thrown back.

**-Lake of Rings-**

Kor was sitting on a bench in the area, holding an ice pack on his shoulder. The constant sounds of battle weren't calming his nerves. As much as he wanted to be there for his friends, he knew he was too much of a liability since the Queen could literally control technology. In fact, the only reason he hadn't pulled out the walled sentries of the city or even sent Hornet in was due to that revelation. Not only that, but the engineer realized most of his advantages came from various technology, and he was beginning to worry he might be completely useless throughout this whole conflict, especially since he wasn't as tough as his friends physically. He was also unsure if the Queen knew of his other cybnetics.

He was pulled from his thoughts when a gust of wind hit his fur. "Sonic? What are you doing here?" "The Queen took control of Ken and she's using him to attack us. I need another power ring headband to snap him out of it." "Already on it Sonic." Nicole said. "Wait, Ken's a cyborg?" Kor asked. "Pretty much. Speaking of which, shouldn't you be inside Kor?" Sonic asked. "Not exactly happy with not being able to assist my friends. Plus I feel completely useless given that damn bitch's magic..." Sonic was alittle thrown by Kor's name for the Queen but ignored it. "You aren't completely useless Kor. Sure you have alot of technical advantages, but you still have the brains to make things work." "To be frank, that doesn't make me feel any better..." The fox sighed.

Sonic was about to give more advice but he noticed the ring hadn't appeared yet. Plus, the continous sounds of thunder weren't helping. "Not to rush Nicole but what's taking the ring so long?" He asked. "It takes alot of power to generate a ring Sonic. I'd need at least 7 minutes before one can appear." The A.I. said. "Time is something we don't have..." Sonic said, folding his arms. "I'll see if I can re-route more power." She replied. After another minute, Kor noticed something coming in the distance. "Uh, Blue? What is that?"

Sonic turned and saw Ken speeding directly towards them. "Um, Nicole? You almost done? He's heading right for us!" "Just a few more seconds." She said. Just as Ken was getting within striking distance, a new power ring floated up from the lake. Sonic hastly grabbed it and slammed on the monkey's head, freeing him from his mind control. Ken splashes into the lake, which fortunately is rather shallow. Ken realizes what happened over the last 15 minutes and just sits there, sulking. It was then Sonic truly realized why he was so angry about being called a king. He believes he failed to live up to that name, and given how Ken was used to wipe out the Dragon Kingdom Freedom Fighters, it was completely understandable why he was hesitant to talk about it, and why he was angered about the celebration yesterday.

Regina looks on with a grin on her face. "Time to go Snively. Our foes have embarassed themselves enough." With that, the two head back to New Megaopolis.

"I thought...with the crown I would be able to resist her control...but I lost myself to my own rage, making me susceptable to her control again...even after all the pain I caused, I still continued to fight them, but being alone after this time..." Ken said to himself, even though everyone else heard it. "Ken, you aren't alone in this. We've told you before, you can count on us to help you. From the looks of it, you need it now more than ever." Sally said, trying to ease his pain. However, Antoine was still flustered from earlier. "Aside from that, eet would have been a good idea to us more about ze Queen's power! Two of our members, including my wife, were hurt! Eet would have been useful if you told us you were also a pawn to her!" "Antoine come on, he doesn't need this right now..." Sally retorted.

"No. He's right Sally. I should have warned you all before-hand about the Queen's ability as a technomage..." Ken said. "I was plannin' on askin' that earlier but forgot..." Kor said. "Well, we all make mistakes. But even when we do, we always keep sight of our goals. We're strong as long as we stand together, and you can still be strong for us just as we are for you Ken." Sally says with a smile. This brightens the monkey's mood to a degree, even putting a genuine smile on his face. "I'm sorry for neglecting to tell you all that crucial piece of information." He said to Antoine. "And I'm sorry for 'aving snapped at you." The coyote replies before the two shake hands. "Hey Ant, remember your old yellow streak?" Sonic asked. "Oui. I remember zat all too well..." "Because I could totally bring it up right now." The hedgehog says with a smirk. "I know..." "Cause I've got a _list_ of it." Sonic teases. "Stop eet..."

Soon, the heroes disperse. Sally goes to check on Tails, Sonic gives Antoine a lift to the HQ so he can check on his wife, Ken fishes through the lake in search of his atom-bat, which he dropped upon regaining control of himself, and Kor still sits at the bench, trying to mull over some way they could counter the Queen's magic. Nicole activates the city's shield so their enemies can't enter again. "Worst time to let the shield down..." Kor sighs.

**-Eggdome-**

Snively walks down to the fortress' detention center, a smug look on his face. He finds the cell Eggman is being kept in and gloats to the doctor. "Good news uncle! Regina and I have successfully humiliated and demoralized our enemies, something you could never hope to do. Not only that, without a doubt we'll be able to take over the city and conquer the rest of Mobius, again another feat you failed to accomplish!" He chuckled. However, it appears Eggman didn't understand him, as he is still mumbling random sentences that don't make any sense. Snively sighed. "Not as enjoyable if the person can't understand you..." He muttered as he left.

Eggman continued to say random nonsense, except for one phrase. "...Must do away with Kodos...no, Crabmeat, that's my cookie!...more ore for the Ultimate Annihilator...hate that hedgehog..._**cell block override authority epsilon-gamma-gamma...**_want to ride the pasha... tastes like clucky..." His cell door opens and his straitjacket undoes itself.

**A/N: And that's all for this chapter. The heroes are gonna have to come up with a new strategy to defeat their foe, and having an insane man escape custody can be rather bad, for both side. What's gonna happen? Tune in next time.**


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